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EDUCATION AMONG THE MENNONITES 
OF AMERICA 


By 


JOHN ELLSWORTH WARTZLER, PH. D. 


President of Witmarsum 
Theological Seminary 


With Introduction 
by 
PROFESSOR ELMER E. S. Jounson, Pu. D. 


The Central Mennonite Publishing Board 


Danvers, Illinois 


1925 


Copyrighted, 1925 
by 
The Central Mennonite 
Publishing Board 


TORMYSSTUDENTS 
OF 


GOSHEN AND BETHEL COLLEGES 
1912'TO 1921 


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INTRODUCTION 


The Mennonites have generally been far more concerned about 
a life of service than the recording of their beneficent deeds. Espe- 
cially is this true of them during the first century or more of their 
life in America. We look in vain today for records of their confer- 
ences during the eighteenth century; only now and then do we have 
the opportunity to bring from some hitherto inaccessible source in- 
formation enlightening us on their dealings concerning the religious 
and educational life among them in colonial times. 


History associates them with the first to voice their protest 
against human slavery in America; the largest book printed in colonial 
times deals with the violence done their forebears through more than 
one century of horrible persecutions inflicted in the name of Chris- 
tian faith. For more than two hundred and twenty-five years they 
have quietly but consistently endeavored to render relief to their less 
fortunate brethren driven through many lands. Until the very pres- 
ent they have striven to perform a service for humanity that 
compares favorably with the very best. Their contributions to civil- 
ization are of the highest, whether performed in the field of religion, 
of education, of science, or in the splendor of their morality exhibited 
in the homes and in the communities where they reside. 


Among other things they have given America the values of a 
Christopher Dock; they have had among them men by the name of 
Rittenhouse, names too well known to need further comment. From 
out of the endeavors of more or less silent decades there emerged a 
desire among them to promote the interests of higher education. This 
desire became nation-wide among the several groups of this people 
in the western world, culminating in achievements involving cour- 
ageous initiative and unstinted sacrifice. The pages which follow re- 
count the development of an educational system heroic and noble in 
its way of progress. 


President John E. Hartzler is eminently fitted to write a book of 
this kind. Both on account of his sympathetic spirit and his intel- 


6 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


lectual attainments, Doctor Hartzler is splendidly qualified to per- 
form this service for the common good of all. He has assembled ma- 
terial hitherto unknown to the field of pedagogy, and he has very fit- 
tingly told the story of a great educational movement with a compe- 
tence and an impartiality that makes the production all the more 
valuable. It should serve as a source of inspiration to all students of 
history, and more particularly to the young Mennonites of America. 


ELMER E. S. JoHNSON. 


Hartford Theological Seminary, 
APTI, oD) | 


PREFACE 


The primary interest of this book is not Church history but the 
development of certain educational ideals, attitudes and movements 
of a people having their origin in the Religious Reformation four 
hundred years ago. It has been the aim to collect, systematize and 
interpret the educational events in the nearly two hundred and fifty 
years of Mennonite history in America, with the added aim of es- 
timating the religious, ethical and educational ideals of this people 
with the sincere hope of stimulating more positive and constructive 
purpose and action in their educational endeavors. 


Special effort has been made to be biographical in method, if 
such a thing is possible with ideas and institutions, permitting the 
reader to live as nearly as possible in and with the ideals and move- 
ments. The purpose has been to present a body of educational and 
institutional facts and events sufficient to justify general conclusions 
on their philosophy of education as well as to venture at some haz- 
ards a suggestive program for future procedure within the de- 
nomination, 

In Part I is presented just enough history and ethics to form a 
sufficient background for a proper understanding of the educational 
movements and ideals in the denomination, In Part II is given the 
historic development in elementary and religious education since 
1683 to the present time. In Part III appears only the briefest sum- 
mary of interesting and important facts in the development of col- 
legiate institutions, with the suggestion of a possible program. 


In this presentation the author has in mind the average layman 
as well as the critical and professional student of educational history 
in America. He has been free, and at times severe, in his criticism, 
even to the extent which may seem unjust to some, but only with the 
hope that the reactions and responses would make for a better day 
and a more efficient educational policy within the denomination. 

Denominationalism for denominationalism’s sake alone has no 
future. The only justification for any denomination is on the con- 
dition that it makes some unique contribution to the Kingdom of God. 


8 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Mennonitism must become conscious of the fact that only to the ex- 
tent that it maintains the foundation principles of its original faith, 
namely, faith in an open Bible for all men with freedom of interpre- 
tation; a faith which urges entire freedom of conscience, and yet 
honors Divine authority; and a faith which urges religious toleration 
and brotherliness both toward those within and those without the 
group, only to this extent will the denomination remain increasingly 
necessary in the world. The denomination must become conscious 
of the fact that to the degree that it departs from that faith to that 
degree it makes itself unnecessary and useless in the world. Aside 
from effective and efficient education this consciousness can not be 
produced. 


In the preparation of this book many personal obligations have 
accumulated. JI am indebted to my students who have aided me ma- 
terially in the collection of historical data from various sections’ of 
the country. I am under particular obligation to President J. W. 
Kliewer of Bethel College for valuable information; to the Doctors 
Elmer E. S. Johnson and A. J. Wm. Myers of Hartford Theological 
Seminary with whom I spent a happy and profitable year in special 
research; to Doctor C. Henry Smith and Dean Noah E. Byers of 
Bluffton College for important suggestions and vital criticism of 
final manuscripts; and to John F. Funk of Elkhart, Indiana, for the 
use of his library and special documents. To all of these persons, 
and others, 1 am deeply indebted and hereby acknowledge heartily 
my thanks and appreciation. 


THE AUTHOR 
Witmarsum Theological Seminary, 
Bluffton, Ohio. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Page 
| jaa oad Beef 
HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL BACKGROUND 
CHAPTER I. THE MENNONITES IN EUROPE 13 


Introduction: Aim and purpose; Geographical distribution. 
The Reformation: resident forces; demand for deeper spir- 
itual life; reformation leaders. The Mennonites: origin; 
the Anabaptist movement, the occasion, growth, doctrines 
and ideals, persecutions; Menno Simon; doctrinal position of 
Menno; the Dort Confession. Mennonite education in Eu- 
rope: during reformation times; more recent movements in 
Germany, France and Holland; the Mennonite Rescue and 
Educational Establishment, the school at Weierhof, the Semi- 
nary at Amsterdam. 


CHAPTER II. MENNONITES IN AMERICA 25 
Introduction. Why another country? Economic reasons, re- 
ligious reasons, freedom from military service, and independ- 
ent Church, personal conscience. In America: first per- 
manent settlement; contributions of the Mennonites: first 
formal protest against slavery, the first book on pedagogy, 
the first paper, a denominational mother—the Baptists, the 
Brethren, the Friends. Characteristics: the simple life; indus- 
trious; a rural people; unprogressive; intolerance. 


CHAPTER III. THE ETHICS OF MENNONITISM 37 
Introduction: The aim; the approach; the original organiza- 
tion; historic principles; the first Confession. Attitude toward 
State. Attitude toward education. Attitude toward war. At- 
titude .oward ~-arriage. Attitude toward the world. Con- 
cerning the Church. 


PAWEL 


ELEMENTARY AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FROM 
1683 TO THE PRESENT 
CHAPTER IV. EARLY AMERICAN MENNONITE EDUCA- 
TION 49 
Introduction: general Colonial conditions; education until 
1776. Early Mennonite Education: the first Mennonite 
school; other Mennonite schools in Pennsylvania; Henry 


10 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Page 
Funk; attitude toward higher education. Francis Daniel Pas- 
torius; early life; to Pennsylvania; religious affiliations, the 
protest against slavery; his educational career; particular con- 
tributions. 


CHAPTER V. CHRISTOPHER DOCK AND HIS. EDUCA- 
TIONAL PHILOSOPHY 58 
Introduction: Biographical sketch. Dock’s philosophy of 
education: psychological principles; method of receiving pu- 
pils, attention and response, separate treatment, individual 
treatment, apperception, impression and expression; peda- 
gogical principles; concerning the force of ideals, concerning 
discipline, concerning rewards, concerning recreation, educa- 
tion in religion and morals; the place of the Bible, ethics, 
moral evils and how to meet them; Dock’s social theory. 


CHAPTER' VI. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL (Old, Conterence) 69 
Introduction: Religious instruction from 1775 to 1850. Re- 
ligious teaching from 1850 to 1867; home education, printed 
Bible lessons, education encouraged. Introduction of the 
Sunday School; opposition, first favorable Conference action, 
the first Sunday School, Sunday Schools allowed in Indiana, 
in Ohio, in Virginia, in Pennsylvania, in Illinois. Organiza- 
tion and methods; method of conducting, literature, the teach- 
er, status in 1870, apologies. 


CHAPTER VII. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL (General Conference) 90 
Introduction. Introduction of Sunday Schools; the forerun- 
ner, the first Sunday School, The Mennonite, the Sunday 
School teacher, the status in 1889. Movements in the Central 
States; the first school, organization, literature, teachers train- 
ing, standards. The Western District Conference. The 
Mountain Lake District. 


CHAPTER VIII. OTHER RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONAL 
AGENCIES 100 
Introduction: Schools and colleges; short Bible courses. lo- 
cal Bible schools; Bible conferences; Sunday School conven- 
tions, the Christian Endeavor; Bible lecture courses; instruc- 
tion ‘n catechism; Young People’s Conference. 


CHAPTER IX. THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM 109 
Introduction. Development of German schools; the course 
of study; financial support; standards. A typical school; 


Table of Contents 


characteristics; rise of the local Parochial school; the Briider- 
thal Church School. 


CHAPTER X. THE GERMAN PREPARATORY SCHOOL 
Introduction. Establishment of the school; conditions giving 
rise to the school; the school in operation; courses of instruc- 
tion. From 1909 to 1923; the transition; the reorganization; 
instructors; courses of instruction; rules and regulations; stu- 
dent activities; present status. 


PARTI 


COLLEGIATE EDUCATION 


CHAPTER XI. INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 
Introduction. Beginnings; Abraham Unsicker; Joseph Funk; 
John H. Oberholtzer. The rise of colleges;.the Wadsworth 
School; Bethel College; The Elkhart Institute; Goshen Col- 
lege. 


CHAPTER XII. INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT (Con- 
cluded) 
Introduction. Bluffton College; Tabor College; Freeman 
College; Hesston College; Eastern Mennonite School; Wit- 
marsum Theological Seminary. 


CHAPTER XIII. THE OUTLOOK 

Introduction. Present Tendencies: toward conservatism; 
toward modernism; toward union of the several branches. A 
present Need: a consuming objective. The Problem: to har- 
monize and direct tendencies; to unite available forces in con- 
structive program; efficient leadership. The program: vital and 
dynamic interpretation of early faith; the standardization of 
collegiate institutions; a union school of theology; The United 
Mennonite Church. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


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117 


180 


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HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL BACKGROUND 


CHAPTER I 
THE MENNONITES IN EUROPE 


The roots of Mennonitism run back to, if not previous to, the 
14th and 15th centuries. It is not possible to understand or appreci- 
ate American Mennonitism without going back into these centuries 
and acquainting ourselves with the origin, ideals and convictions of 
this people. It is not the aim of this chapter to give anything like a 
complete history of the European Mennonites. The aim is simply to 
relate sufficient history, and of a particular line, such as will secure 
a sufficient background for a study of the educational history of the 
Mennonites of America. There are major facts and movements in 
the early history of the denomination which have direct bearing upon 
the present status of their educational system in America. 


Before the Great War Mennonites were found, and had church- 
es, in The Netherlands, in Switzerland, Germany, Russia, France, 
and in Galicia, with a total European membership of about 175,000. 
Russia had about 85,000; The Netherlands, 65,000; Germany, 
20,000.* Since the war many of the European Mennonites, especial- 
ly from Russia, have emigrated to America. 


THE REFORMATION 
1. Resident Forces. For several hundred years Europe was in 


preparation for the great religious reformation. The Crusades, bring- 
ing various countries and peoples together, gave them a new point of 
view. The fall of feudalism and the invention of gun powder; Co- 
pernicus with his theory of astronomy and a vaster universe; the re- 
discovery of Greek life and culture; all of these, with the discovery 


* Smith—The Mennonites—p, 333 


14 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


of America (1492), the invention of the printing press (1477), and 
the Renaissance (1450-1550), entered largely into the rebuilding of 
Europe and the making of the classical and religious reformation a 
reality. With the discovery of America the whole world conception 
was changed and the spirit of pioneering was planted in the hearts of 
men. With the invention of the printing press the world became a 
reading world. With the Renaissance came the conviction that the 
quest for knowledge was unlimited and that the truth of things be- 
came the inalienable right of all men. The center of interest was 
now shifted from the cloister seclusion to the world of activities. Re- 
ligion was not disavowed, but it was stripped of its stern and inflex- 
ible formality. Men, and not dogma, became the center of interest. 


2. Demand For Deeper Spiritual Life. The rise of formal 
creed and papal authority from the 4th to the 10th century laid the 
foundation for the “dark ages”. Education became formal, limited 
and esoteric. Superstition and ignorance were on the throne. The 
Church accepted as her task that of maintaining a static past. The 
Bible was a closed and practically unknown book. Aside from the 
corruption in the Church many of the priests could neither read nor 
write. Religion had degenerated into mere form. The Roman priest- 
hood had usurped authority even above the sacred scriptures, and 
those who dared to differ with them were treated as heretics, perse- 
cuted and even martyred. 


Interesting side lights will be thrown upon early Mennonitism if 
we keep in mind the fact that in Germany the Renaissance and the 
Reformation were practically the same thing. In the South, Italy for 
example, the Renaissance was largely in classical and pagan literature. 
In the North, Germany, Holland, Etc., the center of interest was in 
Patristic and Christian literature. The South was interested in per- 
sonal culture; the North in morals and religion. The South was in- 
dividualistic and self-centered; the North was social and reform- 
atory. The interests of the 15th century were literary and aesthetic. 
The interests of the 16th century were ethical and theological.* In 
view of these conditions it is not difficult to see why the Anabaptist 


* Monroe—History of Education—p. 401 





Historical and Ethical Background 15 


movement was found largely in Germany, Switzerland, and Holland, 
rather than in Italy and the South. 


Those persons within the Roman Church desiring a deeper spir- 
itual life had no intention of withdrawing from the Church. Their 
aim was to purify the body from within. For several hundred years 
such efforts were being made to result only in failure. The Wal- 
denses, in the 13th century, made an effort through their leader, 
Peter Waldo, but failed. The Waldenses retained their membership 
in the Church, at the same time they formed a society which held its 
own separate meetings, their primary aim being to bring their mem- 
bers to experience spiritual regeneration. This was one of the resi- 
dent forces at work which finally found expression in the reformation 
movement and especially in the Anabaptist movement, out of which 
in turn grew the Mennonites. 


3. Reformation Leaders. Progress and reforms seldom, if 
ever, start with established authorities. Progress and reform result 
when the masses, because dissatisfied with the order of things, collect 
about the leader or leaders of their choice, leaders who give promise 
of executing the wish and desire of the masses. Evidently the names 
of many of the pioneer leaders of the Reformation never reached the 
pages of history. Moral and religious evolution move slowly and it 
is not difficult to see how many generations were needed to work in 
comparative seclusion in order to prepare the way for those who did 
finally succeed. 


Such men as Martin Luther (1483-1546) in Germany, Zwingli 
(1484-1531) in Switzerland, Menno Simon (1496-1559) in Holland, 
John Calvin (1509-1564) in France, and John Knox (1505-1572) in 
Scotland, were able to succeed largely because of the efforts of such 
men as Peter Waldo (died about 1262) at Lyons, France; John Huss 
(1369-1415), Professor at University of Prague, John Wyclif (1324- 
1384) in England. These men, with others, were the forerunners of 
the Reformation and deserve no small credit in preparing the way 
for their successors.* 


* Hurst—Short Hist. of the Christian Church—p. 195f 


16 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


THE MENNONITES 


1. Origin. While there was considerable identity between the 
Waldenses and the Mennonites, yet, it can hardly be demonstrated 
that there is any organic connection. Attempts to connect the Men- 
nonites with the Waldenses, or even the twelve Apostles, have always 
failed.+ What is actually known is that there appeared rather sudden- 
ly just at the dawn of the Reformation, in almost every Christian coun- 
try, little groups of men and women, who were determined to recon- 
struct Christianity after the New Testament model. Like the Wal- 
denses they esteemed the creed of the primitive Church; unhindered 
approach to God, without priest or saint as mediator, was to them a 
great right. These numerous scattered groups of men and women, 
bent on reconstructing Christianity, were soon given the name “Ana- 
baptists”, and it is in this group that we find the origin of the Men- 
nonites. 


2. The Anabaptist Movement. It must be kept in mind that 
the Anabaptist movement included a number of sects, perhaps forty,* 
all of whom agreed on many essential points. They all were “Inde- 
pendents” and “Separatists”. They agreed on adult baptism, com- 
plete separation of Church and State, and separation from the world. 
It is difficult to say, says Dr. Smith, how many belonged to one group 
and how many to another ; but it is fair to assume that the large body 
were of the peaceful, non-resistant type. At any rate, soon after 
1535 practically all of these other groups disappeared, and on the 
Continent only the non-resistant groups survived. These surviving 
groups were later known as “Mennonites”. t¢ 


(1) The Occasion For Anabaptist Movement. It seems evi- 
dent that Luther and Zwingli modified their original radical ideas in 
their departure from the Roman Church; they retained certain ele- 
ments and principles of the old Church. It was this modification, 
which looked to some like a compromise, which gave rise to the Ana- 


+ Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 17 


*M. Christoff Erhardus—Wahrhaftige Historia von den Miinsteri- 
schen Briidern und Wiedertaufern, Etc. (1589). 


~ Smith—The Mennonites—p. 38 


Historical and Ethical Background 17 


baptist movement. The demand was for a more radical departure 
from the Roman Church. The movement was spontaneous at first 
and was not an organized movement. The exact date of the begin- 
ning of the movement can hardly be determined. There was no par- 
ticular leader at first. 


It was about 1525, in Switzerland, South Germany, Moravia, 
Lower Rhine, when the Anabaptist movement became a separate or- 
ganization by the official adoption of adult baptism only. The move- 
ment grew in Switzerland, Germany, and in Holland in particular.” 


(2) Growth of The Movement. Times and conditions were 
most favorable for such a movement. For three centuries resident 
forces had been working. The Waldenses had existed in many places 
where Anabaptism was now flourishing. The new movement ap- 
pealed to the common people and gave them hope to attain their deep- 
est religious desires. The new Church, patterned after the primitive 
Church, gave the common man hope for social and economic relief. 
Free access to the Bible, a long lost and closed book, created great in- 
terest among the masses. After the middle of the 15th century Bibles 
were printed in both German and Dutch and distributed among the 
people. These conditions made possible the rapid growth of the 
movement. 


(3) Doctrines and Ideals. The majority of the Anabaptists 
were a peaceful folk, law-abiding, asking nothing but that they might 
be permitted to worship God in their own way, and wishing no ill or 
harm to those who might differ with them. There was a mystical ele- 
ment in their doctrine, the foundation stone of which was the convic- 
tion that to be a Christian is to be united by faith to the Son of God, 
so as to be a partaker of His nature. One can not be a Christian by 
inheritance, by education, or by sacraments; but by repentance, faith 
and regeneration.* 

Briefly summarized the Anabaptist doctrines and ideals should 
include the following propositions: (1) The Church is an independ- 
ent, voluntary group of believers banded together for the purpose oi 
worship. Separation of Church and State, and religious toleration 


* Vedder—Heroes of The Reformation (Hubmaier), p. 14f. 


1é Education Among the Mennonites of America 


are logical corollaries of the independent Church. (2) Infant bap- 
tism, the sign of initiation into the universal State Church, has no 
place in the voluntary institution. Adult baptism administered to the 
voluntary believer must be the initiatory symbol. (3) The Bible is 
the only guide of faith and practice, the New Testament in particular. 
(4) The office of magistrate can not be filled by the Christian. Gov- 
ernment is a divine institution ordained to protect the righteous and 
to punish the wicked. The Christian must be obedient to his rulers, 
pray for them and pay taxes to support the government. (5) The 
Christian can not take up the sword; love must be the ruling force in 
all social relations. To take the life of another is wrong under any 
circumstance. (6) Church discipline is to be secured through the 
“ban’’, used to exclude the disobedient from the rights and privileges 
of membership. (7) The Lord’s Supper is to be regarded merely as 
a memorial to the death and suffering of Christ, and not as contain- 
ing the “Real Presence”. (8) It is wrong to take an oath.* 

(4) Persecutions. The apostles of the Anabaptists traveled 
extensively and were gladly received. Their simple life, free and 
simple Gospel, their invitation to repentance and regeneration, were 
eladly received by the dissatisfied masses. It was because of the pop- 
ularity of the movement with the common people, as well as because 
cf certain radical doctrines, that the movement in South Germany 
and Switzerland was subjected to severe and inhuman persecutions. 
Neither Luther nor Zwingli was strong on religious toleration. Lu- 
ther, in particular, tended strongly toward the enforcement of his 
ideas of freedom with the old spirit of intolerance. The Anabaptists 
were falsely reported as revolutionists while at the same time their 
creed was positively against violence and war. They were classed 
with the Munzerites, fanatical revolutionists, with whom they had no 
connection whatsoever.t 

In about the year 1529 a decree provided that all Anabaptists 
should be executed without trial. Both Catholics and Protestants 
consented and Anabaptists were hunted down like wild beasts. By 
the year 1530 nearly 2,000 had been executed. Thielman Van Braght, 


* Smith—The Mennonites—p. 39f. 
+ Barclay—The Inner Life of Religious Societies—p. 81 


Historical and Ethical Background ae 


in his Martyr’s Mirror, records many cases where Anabaptists were 
burned, drowned, beheaded, tortured, beaten with rods, or buried 
alive. Felix Manz was among the first martyrs.+ 

What is true concerning the persecutions of the Anabaptists is 
almost literally true concerning the Mennonites who immediately fol- 
lowed them. Because of their desire for radical reform, their pecu- 
liar doctrines, and their refusal to conform to either Roman or State 
Church, they were treated as traitors, disloyal, rebellious, heretical 
and untrustworthy subjects of the State. State and Church authori- 
ties made no distinction between the Mennonites who were a quiet, 
peace-loving and non-resistant group, and the fanatical, revolution- 
ary and chiliastic Munsterites. 

3. Menno Simon. Menno was about twenty-two years younger 
than Luther. He was not the founder of the denomination, but was 
the early and most influential leader who came into the movement 
soon after it started. Menno was born in 1496, at Witmarsum, Fries- 
land, one of the provinces of The Netherlands. He was a contem- 
porary of Melanchthon, Calvin, Bullinger and Bucer, some of the 
great theological giants of the 16th century. He was also a contem- 
porary of Rabelais, the great opponent of formality and insincerity 
and friend of science, and Erasmus, the great advocate of the “New 
Learning” as a most important factor in the much needed moral, re- 
ligious, educational, and social reform. 

Though educated for the Roman priesthood and having servec 
for a time in this capacity, Menno, at the age of forty (1536), upon 
invitation, was baptised and joined himself with the Anabaptist move- 
ment, having withdrawn from the Roman Church in 1524. He was 
ordained to preach by Obbe Philip. No sooner had he begun to 
preach when the imperial government offered one hundred guilders 
for his head. He fled constantly from one place to another. He 
preached, baptised and organized churches in Russia and Lithuania. 
His last years were spent at Wuestenfeld, a village between Altona 
and Lubeck. He died on January 13th, 1559, and was buried in his 
own garden.* 


+ Vedder—Heroes of the Reformation (Hubmaier)—p, 20f. 
* Pennypacker—Penna. German Society—Vol. 9—p, 63f 


20 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


4. Doctrinal Position of Menno. On matters of doctrine and 
ideals Menno agreed with the essential teachings of the Anabaptists 
noted above. He held individual views on a few things; for example, 
the doctrine of the incarnation, taken likely from Melchior Huffman ; 
the view that Jesus came into the world without partaking in the least 
of the human nature of Mary. He was*constantly challenged by 
anti-Mennonites to defend his positions. He entered several debates, 
the leading points being: The Incarnation, the Origin of Sin, Bap- 
tism, Sanctification, The Two Natures, Oaths, Divorce, and the Call 
to The Ministry. 

Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and others were more conspicuous and 
played a more public and popular role in the Reformation, but in no 
sense a more important role than did Menno Simon. In fact Luther 
and Zwingli took the easy way in joining with the State and in not 
separating too far from the Roman Church. Menno played a far 
more difficult part in the arena of the Reformation. Luther and 
Zwingli relied upon the force of arms, if necessary, to bring about 
their desired ends; Menno relied on the force and appeal of love only. 


5. The Dort Confession. It should be mentioned here, though 
noted more fully later, that for nearly one hundred years or more, 
the Mennonites were without a written creed or confession of faith. 
Tt was not until 1632, at Dort, Holland, that a Confession was offi- 
cially adopted.* Lack of means of travel and communication as well 
aS opposition on the part of State and Established Church, prevented 
the Mennonites from coming before the public eye more than was 
necessary. Each group, in its particular locality, continued to wor- 
ship God with no written creed or confession, and with the Bible as 
the sole guide in faith and practice. 


MENNONITE EDUCATION IN EUROPE 


While it is evident that Mennonites generally during their early 
days were opposed to education and those who possessed it, yet, 


* Note. It is interesting to note that in the same year John Amos 
Comenius, one of the most important representatives of the Realistic 
Movement, completed his “Didactic Magna”, one of the most remarkable 
educational treatises ever composed. 


Historical and Ethical Background 21 


among them were men, leaders in religious thought, who favored ed- 
ucation and advocated it. 


1. During Reformation Times. During the time of theological 
and ecclesiastical reconstruction in Germany, Holland, and Switzer- 
land during the 16th century, when old faiths were cast aside and 
when men began to investigate and conclude for themselves, the Men- 
nonites had among them men of great educational attainments and 
convictions; men who compared very favorably with men of other 
Protestant movements; men who were really conspicuous in the re- 
ligious and philosophical thought and literature of that day. 


Of the early Mennonite educational leaders Hans (John) Denck 
is perhaps among the most popular. Denck was a contemporary oi 
]_Luther and Zwingli and possessed a thorough education. He was a 
graduate of the University of Basel with the Master of Arts degree, 
and was particularly proficient in Greek, Latin, and the Hebrew 
languages. He was both a scholar and a philosopher. He was the 
author of many books, but owing to the Luther and Zwingli persecu- 
tions, his works were largely destroyed. One of his works—*“Divine 
Law in The World’, was recently discovered. Dr. Ludwig Keller, 
writing concerning this work says, that among all the polemics writ- 
ten he “has not found one which comes anywhere near to the depth 
and purity of this little work.” Keller says further: “There was a 
time when the name of John Denck was on the banner of every great 
party, when vast multitudes were eager to hear him and gain from his 
writings the zeal which enabled them courageously to suffer torture 
and death for their faith. Denck was for many years the spiritual 
leader of a great party in Germany.’”* 


The work of Denck which most of all demonstrated his scholarly 
attainments was a translation from Hebrew to German of the Pro- 
phetical Books of the Old Testament. This work was completed on 
April 13th, 1527, thirteen editions appearing during the first three 
years. It was read all over Germany. Both Zwingli and Luther 
used it in the production of their translations. Luther copied ver- 


* Keller—Ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer—p. 111. 


aa Education Among the Mennonites of America 


batim from it. It was Baum, the theologian, who said of Denck: “He 
was three hundred years ahead of his times.”* 

Menno Simon, noted above, while not so highly educated as 
Denck, was however, a master of Latin, and also knew Greek. He 
wrote and debated incessantly on points of doctrine. His principal 
writings cover two dozen or more of vital and living issues of his day. 
His great contribution during the Reformation and the promotion of 
the Anabaptist movements was not so much in his educational attain- 
ments as in his capacity for leadership and organization. 

Three other men deserve mention in this connection, namely, 
Felix Manz, Conrad Grebel, and Balthasar Hubmeier. These men 
were contemporaries of Luther. Manz was well educated and a mas- 
ter in Hebrew. Grebel was highly educated, having studied ip 
Vienna and Paris. He was a master in Greek and wrote Latin flu- 
ently. Hubmeier was a man of thorough education and of great in- 
fluence. He studied philosophy and theology under Dr. Eck. He 
was for a time instructor in the University of Freiburg, and also pro- 
fessor of theology at Ingolstadt. 


2. More Recent Movements in Germany, France and Holland. 
More recent years show more activity in education among the Men- 
nonites of Europe. This is especially true in Germany and Holland. 


(1) The Teyler Institution. Perhaps no institution has made 
the Dutch Mennonites more famous than the Teyler Institution. The 
dangers of one hundred and fifty years ago in Holland were not es- 
pecially materialistic in nature, but in the subtle changes which were 
taking place in their deepest religious convictions. It was for the 
purpose of controlling this situation that Peter Teyler Vander Hulst, 
about 1780, established “The Society for The Extension of Knowl- 
edge and For The Establishment of the Christian Religion.” The 
original family name was not Teyler but Taylor. The founder of 
this society left considerable capital for the founding of the institu- 
tion. Premiums are offered by the institution for the best answers to 
questions of utmost variety, of a religious and scientific character. 
Not only Mennonite scholars, but men of every conceivable religious 


* Keller—Ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer—p. 237 


Historical and Ethical Background 23 


type, in Holland, France and Germany, compete for honors.* 

(2) The School at Weierhof. At this place the Mennonites 
have established a school of higher education. It was M. Loewenberg 
who set in motion forces which gave rise to this institution of learn- 
ing. In 1867 he started on a small scale to educate Mennonite youths. 
His work soon found support; buildings were erected and many 
young people received instruction. It was in 1884 that Dr. E. Groe- 
bel, a former pupil of the school, became director. From time to time 
rapid progress was made, and by 1901 a number of buildings, with 
about 170 students, and a faculty of eighteen members, were in the 
institution. The courses of instruction were primarily Academy and 
Preparatory, though full collegiate work was in view. In the early 
days of this school the Mennonites in North Germany took an un- 
favorable attitude toward it. But in more recent years, before the 
Great War, a more friendly attitude was taken, the united Churches 
in Germany contributing 600 Marks annually to its support.+ 

(3) The Mennonite Rescue and Educational Establishment. 
In “Der Mennonitische Friedensbote”’, January 15th, 1872, appears 
the “Dritter Jahresbericht und Rechnung der Mennonitischen Ret- 
tungs- und Erziehungs-Anstalt zu Erincourt, Frankreich.” In other 
words, The Third Year’s Report of the Mennonite Rescue and Edu- 
cational Establishment. The report is made by one Dr. J. Rich. Ac- 
cording to the report the institution likely started about 1869, or 
earlier, and had for its aim both the rescue of poor children and their 
education. Evidently it was something of an elementary school, and 
was located at Erincourt, France. There is no evidence that the in- 
stitution continued any great number of years. 

(4) The Seminary at Amsterdam. It was noted above that 
during the first century of their existence the Mennonites generally 
grew suspicious of all learning, and of all scientific pursuits. They 
preferred what they called a ““God-made”, rather than a “man-made” 
ministry. Their ideal was to “be taught of God” in the great and only 
book, the Bible. But this, as time passed, led them to idolize the 
book. Soon some of the keener spirits among them saw that this 


* Dosker—-The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 270f 
~ Mennonite Year Book and Directory—1902—p. 26 


24 Education Among the Mennomtes of America 


attitude meant disaster to the denomination. This, with leniency to- 
ward them by the State, permitting them to have their own churches, 
and to conduct their own services (about 1630), prepared the way for 
a change of attitude toward educated classes as well as education 
itself. During the 18th century a hunger for intellectual pursuits be- 
gan to reveal itself among the younger men. They saw the need of 
an educated ministry. This desire for an educated ministry crystal- 
lized in the Mennonite Seminary at Amsterdam. It was felt that the 
old method of selecting religious leaders from among those having no 
training was wholly out of joint with the times, and was working ill 
effects.* 

At the present time young Mennonites in Europe studying for 
the ministry spend five years at one of the national universities, the 
last two at Amsterdam, during which time the candidate is required 
to attend lectures in the Mennonite Seminary. Professors in the 
faculty of the Seminary are at the same time regular professors in 
the theological faculty of the City University.+ Dosker is likely right 
in saying that the Mennonites gained organic oneness through the 
educated ministry, the thing which they at first despised and rejected. 


In conclusion it is interesting to note that among the Dutch Men- 
nonites there is to be found a goodly number of statesmen and State 
officials. There is also to be found a goodly number of historians 
among the Dutch and German Mennonites. The leniency granted to 
the denomination about 1630 in Holland, as well as in more recent 
years, has led them to larger and broader and more sympathetic edu- 
cational and social attitudes. The conditions and tendencies in 
Europe, we shall note later, have direct bearing upon the present 
educational status in the denomination in America. 


* Brons—Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten—p, 148 
~ Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 267f. 


CHAPTER II 


MENNONITES IN AMERICA 


This chapter, because of its purpose and brevity, can not be a 
history of American Mennonites. The aim is to select only such ma- 
terials as have a direct bearing upon the educational movements of 
the denomination. 

The discovery of America offered a new world with untold op- 
portunities to many Europeans. A land free from popes, priests and 
kings, free from static customs and traditions, appealed tremendously 
to a freedom loving people. To enter the new world with no tradi- 
tions, no customs, no theological stage scenery already set; a world 
in which one may make his own traditions, customs, and decorate 
one’s own stage on which to play one’s part in life’s drama, was very 
attractive to Mennonites. 


WHY ANOTHER COUNTRY 


1. Economic Reasons. As early as 1643 Father Jogues, a 
French Jesuit traveler, writing a letter in which he describes the 
“Manhate” settlement, makes mention of the religious groups there 
and names the “Calvinists”, the “Catholics,” “English Puritans”, 
“Lutherans”, and the “Anabaptists”, here called ‘‘“Menists”. The 
name “Anabaptist” is frequently found in the old Colonial records of 
New Netherlands. Documents dated 1657 also mention the “Menon- 
ists”. It is likely true that the first Mennonites coming to America 
were Dutch traders from Holland. Many of the Mennonites in 
Europe, especially in Switzerland, were poor and the advantages of 
America appealed to them.* 


2. Religious Reasons. The desire for religious liberty, and the 
privilege of executing their own convictions, were among the primary 
motives bringing Mennonites to America. Mennonites in Europe 

* Smith—The Mennonites—p, 95, 193. 


Also Ecclesiastical Records of the State of New York. Vols. I, II, 
LVivik 


26 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


were simply being tolerated in many parts; they were hindered in 
the free development of their ideals and convictions. In the Palatin- 
ate, as well as in other places, they were not allowed to own land; 
they were tenants and laborers. Special taxes and limitations were 
imposed on them. ‘They were not allowed to bury their dead in 
the Church graveyards. America appealed to this industrious and 
oppressed people and the years from 1683 to 1740 witnessed large 
numbers of them coming to America, and settling in Pennsylvania, 
New York, North Carolina and Virginia. 

3. Freedom From Military Service. As previously noted the 
Mennonites were strongly non-resistant and non-militaristic. They 
would not participate in war for any cause. Europe being almost 
constantly at war made it very difficult for a non-resistant people to 
live unmolested; they found themselves constantly facing military 
demands. In The Netherlands, however, the Mennonites enjoyed 
military exemption until the time of Napoleon, when, in 1810, The 
Netherlands were incorporated into the French Empire, and the end 
came to exemption privileges which the Mennonites had enjoyed for 
more than two hundred years. The universal military spirit, how- 
ever, throughout Europe during and following the Napoleonic wars 
caused the Mennonites to fear that further wars and conflicts would 
make it impossible for them to maintain their non-resistant position. 

In Russia, in 1870, a “Russianification” program was on and the 
special privileges which had been granted to the German Mennonites 
no longer held. The Russian language was to become universal; all 
schools were to be placed under Russian officials, and no one was to 
be exempt from military training. The result was that during the 
years 1874 and 1880 about seventeen or eighteen thousand Mennon- 
ites left Russia for America, settling in the United States and Canada. 

In France the Mennonites had similar experiences. Protests 
were made against military service, and some privileges were granted, 
which some Mennonites accepted while others came to America. 
During the years 1820-1850 a number of Amish Mennonites from 
France came to America, settling in New York, Canada and Ohio 
(Fulton and Butler Counties), as well as in central Illinois. 

4. An Independent Church. The original Mennonites of Eu- 


Mennonites in America at 


rope stood for a free Church; free from all entangling alliances, 
whether State or other denominations. Europe promised little, if 
anything, to a people holding such views. In more recent years, be- 
fore the Great War, Russia offered a bit more. Considerable free- 
dom was granted. But in the days when the great bulk of Mennon- 
ites came to America Europe promised little to this people. Free and 
independent Church life was fundamental in Mennonitism and Amer- 
ica offered the greater hopes in this respect. 


5. Personal Conscience. Mennonites from the beginning con- 
sidered neither kings, priests nor popes as final authority in matters 
of religion. God speaks to every man; revelation is not limited to 
church officials ; the Bible is an open book for every person, and the 
Holy Spirit is teacher and guide for all, regardless of race or color 
or position in the world. These ideals necessarily resulted in the. be- 
lief in personal and individual responsibility, which in turn must 
mean freedom of personal conscience, which freedom of personal 
conscience resulted in the Great War in the “conscientious objector”. 
The right of dissent, whether in matters religious or political, has al- 
ways been held by Mennonites. “They claimed a kind of divine-right 
democracy . . . Absolute individuality, controlled and absolutely 
ruled by the will of God.’’* America seemed to promise most to such 
a personal conscience. 


To improve, then, their economic conditions, to exercise religious 
freedom, to escape military service, to enjoy an independent church 
life and freedom of conscience, as well as to escape persecution, Men- 
nonites came to America. The move was greatly encouraged also by 
a law passed on April 25th, 1682, granting complete freedom of con- 
science to all religious bodies in Pennsylvania.+ 


IN AMERICA 


The first known attempt on the part of the Mennonites to settle 
in America was that made in 1662, by Cornelis Plockhoy, a liberal 


* Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 294 
t CER ie Gm Bas Magazine of Hist. and Biography— Vol. II, 
p. 


2& Education Among the Mennonites of America 


minded Dutch communist of Mennonite ancestry. He, with a colony 
of twenty-five Mennonites, from Amsterdam, settled at Horekill, on 
Delaware Bay. This was about twenty years before William Penn 
came to America. “Two years later the settlement was completely 
broken up by the English... . Nothing is known of the fate of the 
colonists, with a single exception. In 1694 there came to the Men- 
nonites at Germantown an old blind man accompanied by his wife. 
They had been wanderers in the American wilderness for thirty 
years. The brethren gave them a lot of ground and built them a 
house upon it. ... The man’s name was Cornelis Plockhoy, the 
leader of the Mennonite colony at Horekill.’’* 


The efforts of Plockhoy some would call a failure. He has 
slept for more than two hundred years in obscurity, and yet he de- 
serves equal mention with Sir Walter Raleigh, Cotton Mather and 
others. He cast his sympathies with the downtrodden and poor; he 
insisted on separation of Church and State; protested against the 
injury of the child mind with dogma; he insisted on “no lordship or 
servile slavery” as early as 1662 and refused the admission of slavery 
into his colony. In view of all this it is hardly just to speak of his 
work as failure.t 


1. The First Permanent Settlement. The first permanent Men- 
nonite settlement made in America was in the year 1683 at German- 
town, Pennsylvania. For several years William Penn tried to inter- 
est the oppressed Mennonites of North Germany and Holland in 
America. About June 10th, 1683, a group of thirteen families left 
the town of Crefeld, Germany, and sailed for America, landing at 
Philadelphia on October 6th. of the same year. On October 24th. 
fourteen lots of land were surveyed for the Frankfort Company, of 
which Francis Daniel Pastorius was agent, and the next day the set- 
tlers began to dig cellars and to erect log houses, which were com- 
pleted and in use before winter. The tract of land on which they 
settled extended on both sides of the present Germantown Avenue, 
between what is now Logan and Manheim Streets. 


* Wickersham—Hist. of Education in Penna.—p. 164 
+ Pennypacker—Penna. German Society—Vol. IX, p, 263 


Mennonites in America 29 


This group of early settlers came to America without a minister 
or other religious leader. Having no meeting house they first met 
for worship in the homes of the settlers. In 1686, evidently in con- 
junction with Friends (Quakers), a community meeting house was 
erected. William Rittenhouse came to America in 1688 and it was 
through his efforts that a Mennonite Church was organized. He pur- 
chased lot number 19 and on a part of it, in 1708, a log meeting house 
was built, the first Mennonite Church in America. The present Ger- 
mantown Mennonite Church stands now on the same spot. Ritten- 
house was chosen to serve as minister about 1690 or a little later, 
serving as such until his death, February 18th, 1708, at the age of 
sixty-four years.* By the year 1712 the Mennonite population of 
Germantown and Skippack was about two hundred, while the Church 
membership was about one hundred. 

In a letter written to Amsterdam, dated September 3d, 1708, 

. signed by Jacob Gaetschalck, Herman Karsdorp, Martin Kolb, 
Isaac von Sinteren, and Conradt Jansen, they present a loving and 
friendly request for some catechisms for the children and little Testa- 
ments for the young. Besides, Psalm Books and Bibles were so 
scarce that the whole membership had but one copy, and even the 
meeting house needed a Bible.+ 

2. Contributions of The Mennonites. A serious failing of the 
Mennonites is in the fact that, until recent years, they kept no records. 
As a result the world generally knows very little concerning this peo- 
ple. Historians have passed them by for the reason that little was 
known concerning them and the sources of information were limited. 
It was to the interest of the early Mennonites to avoid publicity and 
to live more or less in seclusion. The state of affairs in Europe dur- 
ing and after the Reformation made it inadvisable for them to write 
and publish their ideals and activities. Coming to America they con- 
tinued their habit of avoiding the public eye, and today, in view of the 
fact that so little is generally known concerning them, it may come 
as a surprise to many to learn that the Mennonites were real pioneers 
in a number of important movements and ideals. 


: Heat Magazine of Hist. and Biography—Vol. II. p, 120 
id. 


30 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


(1) The First Formal Protest Against Slavery. As noted 
above, Plockhoy, in 1662, in his colony at Horekill, had it definitely 
written in the constitution of the colony that slavery should be pro- 
hibited.* However, the first formal and written protest against 
slavery in America was brought by the Mennonites in 1688. It is 
evidently true that the Mennonites had no independent place of wor- 
ship before 1690, and perhaps not before 1708. During this time 
they worshipped with the Quakers. In view of this it may be difficult 
to determine whether the protest was originated by the Mennonites 
or the Quakers. However, it is generally conceded that the Quakers 
themselves held slaves at the time,+ and that the Mennonites never 
held slaves but were always opposed. The internal, as well as the ex- 
ternal evidence of the protest itself leads one without doubt to the 
conclusion that the protest was instituted and promoted by the Men- 
nonites but presented to the Yearly Meeting of the Friends for action. 
The protest came first to the Monthly Meeting, at which time the 
Friends reported as follows: “At our monthly meeting . . . we have 
inspected ye matter above mentioned & considered it we finde it so 
weighty that we think it not Expedient for us to meddle with it here, 
hut do Rather commit it to ye consideration of ye Quarterly meet- 
hake itty Meg hay 


The AEB Feet was written in the home of Thomas Kunders, (now 
5109 Germantown Avenue), a Mennonite, and signed by “gerret 
hendricks, derick op de graeff, Francis daniell Pastorius, Abraham 
op den graef.” “A little rill there started which further on became 
an immense torrent, and whenever men hereafter trace analytically 
the causes which led to Gettysburg and Appomattox they will begin 
with the tender conscience of the linen weavers and husbandmen of 
Germantown.’ + 

(2) The First Book on Pedagogy. Perhaps no people in 
America have been more backward in education than the Mennonites, 
yet, to this people goes the honor of having produced the first book 


* Pennypacker—Penna. German Society—Vol. IX. p, 229f. 
Smith—The Mennonites of America—p, 90 

+ Jones—The Quakers in the American Colonies—p, 395 

ORS et an German Society—Vol. IX. p. 196f. 


Mennonites in America 31 


on pedagogy written in America. Says Graves, “The Mennonites in- 
cluded in their system the famous schools of Christopher Dock, who 
in 1750 produced the first elaborate educational treatise in America.” 

Dock was a very able and successful teacher in the early Ger- 
mantown settlement. His life and work, as well as his educational 
philosophy, we note more fully later. Sufficient here to say that 
Dock’s SCHUL-ORDNUNG, or School Management, contains prin- 
ciples and ideals which today are regarded modern. 


(3) The First Paper. William Rittenhouse, noted above, in 
association with others, built, in 1690, on the branch of the Wissa- 
- hicken Creek, what Wickersham calls, “The first paper mill in Amer- 
ica.”* There is abundant evidence to substantiate this statement. 
The first mill was destroyed by a freshet in 1700; but in 1702 it was 
replaced by another, part of the old foundations may yet be seen. 
it was in this first mill, built by the first Mennonite preacher in 
America, that was manufactured the first paper produced in Ameri- 
ca. Samples of the paper are yet in existence. 


(4) A Denominational Mother. At least one, and perhaps 
three, of the present day Christian denominations in America owe 
their origin to the Mennonite Church. The Baptists, the Brethren 
(Dunkards), and the Friends (Quakers) supply very good evidence 
for having originated in the Mennonite Church. Concerning the 
Baptists there can hardly be any question; concerning the Brethren 
and Friends there may be room for difference of opinion. 

(a) The Baptists. Says Dr. Smith, “It is not generally known 
that the original Baptist Church in England grew directly out of the 
Mennonite Church in Amsterdam, and that they also owe to Mennon- 
ite influence the two cardinal principles of their faith, namely, the 
complete elimination of State from religion, and a church member- 
ship limited to the regenerated.’’+ Says Pennypacker, “From the 
Mennonites sprang the general Baptist Churches of England, the 
first of them having an ecclesiastical connection with the parent So- 


~ Graves—A Hist. of Education in Modern Times—p, 100 
Wickersham—Hist. of Education in Penna.—p. 222f 


* Ibid—p. 161 
7 Smith—Mennonites in History—p. 17 


ig) 


32 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


cieties in Holland, and their organizers being Englishmen who, as 
has been discovered, were actually members of the Mennonite Church 


998. 


at Amsterdam.’’£ 


Concerning the Baptists in this connection, Barclay speaks as 
follows: “We may therefore conclude that the first Arminian Bap- 
tist Churches in England were really Mennonites, and at least in 
some of these churches, the doctrines, practices and discipline of the 
Mennonites were practiced.”* Barclay bases his evidence on three 
facts: (1) That the non-immersionist Baptist Church in England 
coincided in all the views of the Waterlander Mennonites, and signed 
the same confession. (2) That the members in the England congre- 
gation were accepted as members by the Mennonites as soon as they 
reached Holland, without baptism or any ceremony whatsoever. (3) 
That these Churches corresponded one with another, and that the 
English Churches agreed to refer their differences to the decision of 
the Mennonite Church, and that in 1626 there were in London 
Churches corresponding with the Waterlander Mennonites of Am- 
sterdam. 


It is stated further by Dr. Smith that at least ten of the present 
Philadelphia Churches, including one Evangelical, two Episcopal, 
one Presbyterian, were all first organized in the little Germantown 
Mennonite meeting house, many of which drew heavily on the Men- 
nonites for their membership. 


(b) The Brethren. This denomination originated in Germany 
in 1708, and in 1719 emigrated to America. They took the New 
Testament as their guide, as did the Mennonites. There were eight 
men at first, with Alexander Mack as their leader, and they desired 
baptism by triune immersion. “The seven desired their leader to bap- 
tise them, but he believed that he had never been baptised aright him- 
self, and declined to baptise the others. It was then decided that one, 
be selected by lot, should baptise Mack, and he the rest of them, 
which was done in 1708 in the river Eder.”+ Mack himself did not 


~ Pennypacker—Penna. German Society—Vol. IX., p. 64 
* Barclay—The Inner Life of Religious Societies—p, 72{ 
* Schaff—Herzog Encyclopedia— Article—“Dunkards” 


Mennonites in America 33 


come to America until 1729 when he landed in Philadelphia with the 
second company. | 


The statement made in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics 
to the effect that the Dunkards are in no way connected with the 
Mennonites or with the German Anabaptists may be difficult to 
prove.; It is difficult to explain the family relationships, the likeness 
in doctrine and practice, customs in dress, rural life, and general re- 
ligious attitude, which are common to both denominations, if there 
never was any connection. It is also difficult to explain, if there be 
no connection, why Dunkard Churches sprang up early in practically 
all of the Mennonite communities in America. The Mennonites were 
in existence nearly two centuries before the Dunkards and history 
furnishes no record of any other denomination other than the Men- 
nonites holding the particular doctrines and ideals which the Men- 
nonites held and which evidently were taken over by the Dunkards. 
The only difference between the Mennonites and Dunkards is in the 
mode of water baptism and the method of observing the Lord’s Sup- 
per, and these differences are not essential. 


(c) The Friends. Robert Barclay, the noted English Quaker 
historian, and frequently quoted as trustworthy authority, says that 
affinity between the religious principles of the Friends and the Men- 
nonites is so obvious, and in many respects so striking, that an actual 
descent of the former from the latter has been hinted as highly prob- 
able. “So clearly”, says Barclay, “do these views correspond with 
those of George Fox, that we are compelled to view him as the un- 
conscious exponent of the doctrine, practice and discipline of the an- 
cient and stricter party of the Dutch Mennonites.’’* 


The resemblance of the two sects, says Professor Oswald Sei- 
densticker, of the University of Pennsylvania, is tested, not by their 
respective professions of faith, but by their agreement upon the sa- 
lient features of the Christian life and duty. Both laid the greatest 
stress on inward piety, and a godly, humble life; considered all strife 
and warfare as unchristian, scrupulously abstained from taking oath, 


+ Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics—Vol. XI, p. 324 
* Barclay—The Inner Life of Religious Societies—p. 77 


34 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


declared against a paid ministry, exercised through their meetings a 
strict discipline, favored silent prayer, were opposed to infant bap- 
tism, and looked upon the established Church as unhallowed vessels 
of divine truth. The freedom of worship warranted to the. Mennon- 
ites, and other sects in Holland, was the shelter under which the 
Friends introduced their doctrines, and organized their Society.+ 


Concerning the origin of the Baptist Church, then, there can be 
little question. Concerning the Brethren and Friends there remains 
an open question. The evidence is not sufficient to justify dogmatic 
conclusions. About all we surely know is that the Mennonites are 
considerably older than either Brethren or Friends and that the prin- 
ciples and ideals which they held from the beginning are held by the 
Brethren and Friends. And it may not be too much to infer that the 
Mennonites did furnish the inspiration for the origin of the follow- 
ing bodies. The same might be said concerning the Pilgrim Fathers. 
Mennonites in Holland and Germany, for nearly one hundred years, 
as well as in England, were advocates of “civil liberty and human 
rights”, which inspired Robinson, and Brewster, and Carver, and 
Bradford, and Winslow, and made Plymouth Rock immortal. The 
“Separatist” Church under Robinson and Brewster in England found 
its way to Amsterdam and in this way came directly under Mennonite 
influences.* Dosker would also credit the Mennonite Church with 
the first established foreign Medical Mission, established in Java and 
Sumatra in 1849.7 


CHARACTER Sal Gs 


Due. to the fact that from their origin, the Mennonites have 
avoided publicity, certain misrepresentations and misunderstandings 
have grown up on the part of the public. Newspapers, magazines 
and novelists have frequently published materials which represent the 
extremist and not the average Mennonite. For example, “Tillie, The 
Mennonite Maid”, while true in some respects concerning certain 


+ Penna. Magazine of Hist. and Biography—vVol. II. p. 243f. 
* Smith—Mennonites In History—p. 16 
+ Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 281 


Mennonites in America iia) 


groups of “Old Order Amish’, yet, very seriously misrepresents the 
American Mennonite. 


In order to more fully appreciate and to better interpret the 
Mennonite attitude on education it is necessary to note briefly a few 
of the leading social, economic and ethical attitudes of the denomina- 
tion. 


1. The Simple Life. From the days of the Anabaptists this has 
been a chief characteristic of Mennonites; and yet we waited for a 
Frenchman to tell the world about “The Simple Life’. Extravagance 
has always been discouraged. Simple living, simple homes, simple 
in dress, and simple Church life, are all Mennonite characteristics. 


2. Industrious. Mennonites generally are a thrifty and indus- 
trious people. The Mennonite farming communities in Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Ontario, Indiana, Illinois, lowa and further west, are among 
the best in America. Lancaster County, Penna. today which has 
more than fifty organized Mennonite Churches, boasts of being the 
“Garden spot of the world.” 


3. A Rural People. Persecutions in Europe drove the Men- 
nonites to the mountains and rural districts and away from the cities. 
Here they began farming and stock raising. They are still at it. 
Perhaps 95% of American Mennonites are rural people. This, how- 
ever, is changing quite rapidly at present and the “urbanization of the 
rural mind” is going on among them. 


4. Unprogressiveness. This characteristic is due largely to the 
fact that the Mennonites, until recent years, had no educated leader- 
ship. “The Faith of Our Fathers’, without alteration whatsoever in 
principle or method, was the slogan. The past had become for them 
a hitching post rather than a guide post. All revelation has been 
given; all the good things worth saying have been said. Any new 
idea or method in religion was placed under taboo. Education was 
“worldly wisdom” and must be avoided. In industry and money 
making Mennonites have always been up to date; but in religion and 
education the tendency has been to lag behind. 


In justice to a large majority of people it should be said that the 
progressive spirit, both in religion and education, is today in evidence. 


36 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


The last quarter of a century has brought great changes, and the end 
is not yet. The next twenty-five years will see yet greater changes 
toward progress in education and religion. 


5. Intolerance. A basic principle of original Mennonites was 
that of religious toleration. Today, in some sections of the denomina- 
tion, the principle is practically ignored. Intolerance and unwise 
church discipline is one of the things which has prevented the Men- 
nonite Church in America from becoming one of the large and in- 
fluential denominations. If the Mennonites had held to the “Faith of 
Our Fathers” on the principle of religious toleration the story and 
state of American Mennonitism would be different. If our denom- 
inational leaders had been educated men during the past three hun- 
dred years, the Mennonite educational system of America would pre- 
sent quite a different front today. 


It should be said, in closing, that there are now (1925) sixteen, 
perhaps seventeen, branches of Mennonites in America, with a strong 
tendency in some sections to bring about an organic union of the lead- 
ing branches. The total Mennonite membership of the world is less 
than 300,000. In the United States in 1921 they reported 887 church- 
es, 1488 ministers, and 82,722 members. This number is too low. 
The Old Mennonite Conference has about 35,000 members; the Gen- 
eral Conference of Mennonites of North America, about 20,000, and 
the remaining number of something over 100,000 is divided among 
the smaller branches. 


CHAPTER III 


THE ETHICS OF MENNONITISM 


Using the term ‘Ethics’ in the commonly accepted sense, it is 
the present aim, without conscious apology or criticism, to point out 
certain ideals in matters of Christian life and conduct which the early 
Mennonites held ; ideals which have a direct bearing upon their edu- 
cational attitudes, and which have been the ultimate source of many 
of their educational problems. 


The ethical roots of American Mennonitism are traceable to the 
Reformation period in Europe four centuries ago. The ethical ideals 
of the denomination can not be understood or appreciated by way of 
any other approach. The religious and educational conditions of the 
15th. and 16th. centuries in Europe have important bearing upon the 
ethical and educational attitudes of the Mennonites. 


From about 500 to 1,000 A. D. the religious attitude of the mass- 
es was that of unquestioned obedience to “authority”; the reception 
of all doctrine and statements of church officials, and dependence on 
formal truths dogmatically stated. About the 11th century Scholas- 
ticism came in and aimed to bring reason to the support of faith. It 
attempted to formulate religious beliefs into a logical system. All the 
education was conducted by the Church, the result being an undue 
emphasis on education as a preparation for the life to come. The 
educational system was considered so complete that change was not 
permitted, hence no progress. Its system of thought was nothing less 
than fetters on the intellect, a prison house for the soul. And as the 
religious and educational architects complete the prison house, those 
for whom they were building overthrew what they saw meant only 
slavery and imprisonment. It was from the ruins of these structures 
that the following generation laid the foundations for the structure of 
modern thought.* The break away from the attempt to adjust the 
individual into a perfect and complete system of ready made thought 


* Monroe—History of Education—p. 352 


é Education Among the Mennonites of America 


to the development of free personality prepared the way for an in- 
tensified individualism. The break came with the Renaissance and 
one of the fruits of the revolt against the enslavement of the individ- 
ual to dogmatic systems was the Anabaptist movement. The ethics 
of Mennonitism must be approached with these facts and movements 
clearly in mind. 

It was in 1525, in Switzerland, South Germany, Moravia and 
Lower Rhine that the Anabaptist movement became a separate or- 
ganization by the adoption of adult baptism only and upon confession 
of personal faith. Balthasar Hitbmayer, a man of great learning, a 
doctor of theology, a priest in the Cathedral at Regenburg, joined the 
movement and became a great opponent of the Roman Church. Con- 
temporary with Htibmayer were such men as Melchior Rinck, Jo- 
hannes Hut, Hans Denck, Liidwig Hatzer, Felix Manz, Wilhelm 
Roublin, and others. It was on February 7th, 1525, that Manz cre- 
ated a new Church in a private house near Zurich by instituting “be- 
liever’s baptism” by sprinkling. This was the historic beginning of 
the Mennonite Church.t 

There are four basic principles, products of the Renaissance, 
upon which Anabaptism and Mennonitism were founded, namely, 
(1) That the Bible is an open book to all men, peasant, priest, pope 
and king alike, and was to be given a spiritual interpretation. (2) 
The right of any person, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to 
interpret this book. (3) The right of every person to an individual 
conscience in matters of religious belief and conduct, and the right of 
every person to dissent in matters political, social or religious.* (4) 
Religious toleration; the right of men to differ on non-essential mat- 
ters and yet maintain a brotherly attitude toward each other. Chris- 
tianity, in early Mennonitism, was not a religion which imposed dog- 
matic uniformity in matters of creed, but a religion of free spiritual 
fellowship with God and man. 

It is not without significance that in their determination to main- 
tain these great principles, the Mennonites came, as they did, to 


+ Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 30f. 


* Barclay—The Inner Life of Religious Societies—p. 606 
Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 212 


The Ethics of Mennonitisin 39 


America, without king, pope, priest, or bishop, not even a preacher 
or deacon among them. Nothing was more foreign to the early Men- 
nonites than the Episcopal form of Church government. Mennonites 
from the beginning were congregational in government. 


For nearly a century after their origin the Mennonites in Europe 
continued as a denomination without a universally accepted creed. 
The Bible, they said, was their creed. Geographical difficulties and 
lack of free communication and fellowship, during this time, resulted 
in differences of opinion on certain questions of faith. Consequently 
a conference was called at Dort, Holland, where fifty-one ministers 
from many Churches in Holland met on April 21st, 1632, and drew 
up one of the first Confessions to which all parties could subscribe. 
The Confession, evidently a summary statement of Mennonite faith 
during its first century, was then signed by fifty-one ministers and 
teachers who had met.. This Confession has since been the leading 
one of all Mennonites, and it is from this that we must draw many of 
the ethical principles of American Mennonites. 


Bob VEU DEO WGA TIO E ELEG os PACT Ee 


The present attitude of Mennonites toward the State is largely a 
matter of inheritance from conditions in Europe four centuries ago. 
If the State then had been what the State in America now is, the 
story likely would be different. But with the state of affairs as they 
then were the Mennonites demanded entire separation between State 
and Church, and this led to individual withdrawal from any and all 
political matters. 

The early Mennonites refused to have their children baptised, 
which was interpreted by government authorities as an act of dis- 
loyalty to the State, which misinterpretation resulted, in turn, in the 
severe persecutions mentioned by Thielman J. Van Braght, in his 
“DER BLUTIGE SCHAUPLATZ oder MARTYRER-SPIEGEL 
der TAUFS-GESINNTEN.” (1659) These persecutions led the 
Mennonites to believe that the State was evil. | 

However, the denomination believed that the State, as well as all 
governments, had a place in the providence of God and should there- 


40 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


fore be respected and honored.+ In the 1632 Confession the follow- 
ing article appears: 


“We also believe and confess, that God has instituted civil 
government, for the punishment of the wicked and the protec- 
tion of the pious; and also further, for the purpose of govern- 
ing the world-governing countries and citie3; and also to pre- 
serve its subjects in good order and under good regulations. 
Wherefore we are not permitted to despise, blaspheme, or 
resist the same; but are to acknowledge it as a minister of 
God and to be subject and obedient to it, in all things that do 
not militate against the law, and the commandments of God; 
yea, to be ready to every good work; also faithfully to pay it 
custom, tax and tribute; thus giving it what is its due... 
That we are also to pray the Lord earnestly for the govern- 
ment and its welfare, and in behalf of our country, so that we 
may live under its protection, maintain ourselves, and lead a 
quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. .. .” 

In view of all this, there has been until recent years, a strong 
tendency among leading spirits of the denomination to discourage any 
connections with political or governmental affairs. Wayland inter- 
prets their attitude quite correctly when he says that the Mennonites, 
until recent years, have refused any large share in public and political 
life, because, (1) They desired to avoid show and display. (2) Their 
religious convictions concerning the oath prevented them. And (3), 
holding of certain offices might require them to violate their peace 
principles.* 

It is likely that the oath was a great difficulty in participation in 
State affairs. In the Confession the taking of oath is forbidden. 
This was an original Anabaptist position and civil magistrates were 
not admitted into church fellowship. Menno Simon, however, dif- 
fered with them on this point. He did not refuse membership to 


magistrates, but admonished them to rule as behooves children of 


God.t 


This position of Menno represents the attitude of a large majori- 
ty of aggressive Mennonites today who are active in moral and politi- 
cal issues. It is not unusual today to find Mennonites in State Legis- 
latures and other places of governmental responsibility. 


+ Menno Simons—Complete Works—p. 22-24 
* Wayland—The German Element in The Shenandoah Valley—p, 130 
+ Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 211 


The Ethics of Mennonitism 4] 
ATTITUDE TOWARD EDUCATION 


During the Reformation period the Mennonites had among them 
their quota of highly educated men. When a few generations had 
passed, however, and the masses of people had gravitated, because of 
persecutions, to the less conspicuous sections of the country, leaving 
the cities and communities of educational advantages, such as there 
were at the time, and building their homes in rural and mountainous 
districts, there developed not only a neglect of education but an op- 
position against it. It must be remembered, however, that there were 
always individuals among the Mennonites who saw the error in this 
attitude and who availed themselves of every educational advantage.* 


The chief grounds for their opposition to education are evident. 
The institutions of learning (four hundred years ago) were either 
under State or Church control. They looked upon schools as State, 
political or ecclesiastical agencies. Because of the attitude of State 
and established State Church they had reasons to fear both. Learned 
men from both State and Church had been the chief enemies of Men- 
nonitism and were instrumental in urging and executing persecutions. 
The Mennonites naturally concluded that the further away from edu- 
cation, State and the Established Church they could get the better. 
Higher education appeared to them as full of worldliness, pride, boast- 
ing, as well as bigotry and persecution. Theological schools and col- 
leges were discarded. The simple life of the Galilean fishermen was 
preferred.j They considered that “human learning” did not qualify 
for the ministry, and they did not allow their children to go to the 
university, lest they should be injured in their spiritual life.* 


As a result of this tendency there came naturally into the de- 
nomination an uneducated, and consequently inefficient, leadership; a 
leadership, which, until recent years, was not only uneducated, but 
positively opposed to education. There was positive opposition 
against the establishment of institutions of higher learning within the 
denomination, and until perhaps fifty years ago, the young men and 


* Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p. 268 
+ Wickersham—Hist. of Education in Penna.—p, 162 
* Barclay—The Inner Life of Religious Societies—p, 84 


42 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


women desiring a higher education were required to attend other in- 
stitutions, which a goodly number have always done, which attendance 
in turn was taken by the leadership to mean that the person was no 
longer a member of the denomination. Accordingly large numbers 
of the best persons drifted away from the Church. It is not unusual 
to find this attitude today among the uneducated leaders. 

The present status in the denomination is that of a passing and 
a rising generation of leadership. The passing has been fearful and 
suspicious of education and its results. The rising welcomes educa- 
tion most heartily, as well as the results of modern scientific research. 
The rising generation is breaking away from old group customs and 
traditions and is using education as one means of freedom and com- 
plete development of the individual and the spiritual and social well- 
being of society. 


ATTITUDE TOWARD WAR 


Mennonites from the beginning have been opposed to war and 
the participation therein. Barclay says that “Their principles regard 
all war and the very passions which lead to war, as forbidden by 
Christ, and although they would rejoice to heal the wounds occasioned 
by war, either by hospital nursing, the care and the education of or- 
phans, or the supplying the necessities of the civil State, they object 
to be made a part of the military system.’* Even the promotion of 
truth, or personal defense, by carnal force, was refused. 


Written in the Dort Confession is the following: 


“Regarding revenge, whereby we resist our enemies with 
the sword, we believe and confess that the Lord Jesus has 
forbidden his disciples and followers all revenge and resist- 
ance, and has thereby commanded them not to ‘return evil for 
evil, not railing for railing;’ but to put up the sword into the 
sheath, or as the prophets foretold, ‘beat them into plough- 
shares.’ ... Weare... to seek the salvation of ALL men; 
also if necessity require it, to flee, for the Lord’s sake, from 
one city to another, and suffer the spoiling of goods, rather 
than give occasion of offense to any one; if we are struck on 
the right cheek, rather to turn the other also, than avenge our- 
selves, or return the blow. ... We are... to pray for our 
enemies, comfort and feed them, when they are hungry and 


* Barclay—Inner Life of Religious Societies—p. 618 


The Ethics of Mennonitism 43 


thirsty, and thus by well- doing convince them and overcome 
the evil with good. . 


This doctrine implies that “non-resistance” is a positive doctrine, 
a positive, constructive, method of dealing with an enemy by return- 
ing good for evil. It does not imply the suppressing of the fighting 
instinct, nor the change of human nature. It implies a process of 
sublimation by which the fighting instinct of man does not find ex- 
pression through hatred, revenge, destruction and war, but through 
their “moral equivalent”, namely, love and altruistic service. Non- 
resistance accepts the principles of the solidarity of the human race 
and the identity of personal interests, and that love means the prac- 
tice of self-identification with other men in the common well-being 
of humanity. 

Wayland, from the viewpoint of a non-Mennonite, has given a 
very fair statement of the Mennonite position. He says :* 


“In consequence of their non-resistant principles, the 
Mennonites have been accused of a lack of patriotism and 
have at times suffered much in consequence of this and their 
refusal to bear arms. But they are not lacking in patriotism. 
They only believe that war is always wrong and debasing. 
They believe, as a thoughtful writer of history has said, that 
‘there are few things, if any, more important to steady growth 
of a free nation than the maintenance of domestic virtues and 
sanctities of family life.’ They believe in helping the State 
and the nation, but not by means of war and great outstand- 
ing armies, but by the useful and productive industries of 
peace; by earning an honest living, paying just debts, and 
equitable taxes, by avoiding strife and contention as far as 
possible, by settling peaceably, man to man, or by additional 
counsellors, such disputes as inevitably arise; and thus making 
almshouses, jails, law courts, asylums, many policemen, and 
the expense of maintaining all of these, largely unnecessary. 
They would apply the principle of peaceable adjustment of dif- 
ferences upon a large scale, and have nations, as well as in- 
dividuals, observe the golden rule in business and diplomacy, 
and settle all disputed points by honest reason and just ar- 
bitration before, rather than after, the battle.” 


Modern Mennonitism believes that war is an unsuccessful meth- 
od of settling national or international difficulties. It believes that 
war is brutal, barbarous and inhuman; that its results are negative 
rather than positive, and that it is an unsuccessful method of securing 
peace. Mennonitism believes that war must be replaced by a system, 


* Wayland—German Element in The Shenandoah Valley—p. 128f. 


44 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


whether international law, world court, or something similar, which 
seeks the common good of all humanity, and which seeks to render 
welfare to both offended and offender. Mennonitism believes that 
applied Christianity will end war. 


ATTITUDE ON MARRIAGE 


The integrity and sanctity of the home has always been an essen- 
tial item in Mennonite ethics. The family is the basis of society, the 
State, and the Church. Article XII of the Dort Confession reads as 


follows: 


“We also confess that there is in the Church of God an 
honorable state of matrimony between two believers of the 
different sexes, as God first instituted the same in paradise be- 
tween Adam and Eve, and as the Lord Jesus reformed it by 
removing all abuses which had crept into it, and restoring it 
to its first order. In like manner the Apostle Paul also taught 
and permitted matrimony in the Church, leaving it to one’s 
own choice to enter into matrimony with any person who 
would unite with him in such state, providing that it is done 
in the Lord, according to the primitive order; the words ‘in 
the Lord’ to be understood, according to our opinion, that 
just as the patriarchs had to marry among their own kindred 
or generation, so there is also no other liberty allowed to be- 
lievers under the New Testament Dispensation, than to marry 
amongst the chosen generation, or the spiritual kindred of 
Christ; that is, to such, and none others, as are already, pre- 
vious to their marriage, united to the Church in heart and 
soul, having received the same baptism, belong to the same 
Church, are of the same faith and doctrine, and lead the same 
course of life... .” 


The ethics of marriage may then be summarized about as fol- 
lows: Marriage is an institution ordained by God, an institution in 
which one man and one woman are united “in the Lord” for life,* 
a union dissoluble alone by death. And since marriage is for life it 
should not be entered thoughtlessly with the view that if the union 
proves unsatisfactory that it may be dissolved. Husband and wife 
are under equal obligation to do nothing which might endanger its 
perpetuity. Conditions may arise where love would demand “sep- 
aration” for the well-being of all concerned, leaving the parties still 
husband and wife. Legal “divorce” is never justifiable according to 


* Menno Simons—Complete Works—p. 19. Bt 
“In the Lord” was interpreted to mean within the denomination. 


The Ethics of Mennonitism 45 


Jesus, neither is a remarriage in the case of separation, so long as 
both parties live; however, upon the death of either, the remaining 
party is free to remarry. 


ATTITUDE TOWARD THE WORLD 


By the term “world”, as used in this connection, is meant the 
present “evil” world of men, and their doings generally. The ethical 
attitude of Mennonitism toward the world finds expression in the 
doctrine of “Separation from the world.”, or the doctrine of “Non- 
conformity to the world.” During the past one hundred years in 
particular the attitude was expressed in some cases by the adoption 
of peculiar forms of dress, while in other cases the mark of separa- 
tion was the German language. 

The Dort Confession contains no article on this point, the doc- 
trine being one of more recent development. The social, moral and 
religious conditions surrounding early Mennonitism led them in the 
direction of asceticism, or withdrawal from the world. The Scrip- 
tural basis for this position is found in such passages as Rom. 12:2, 
“Be not conformed to this world. . . .”, or II Cor. 6:17, “Come out 
from among them and be ye separate. . . .”’; or again, II Cor. 6:14, 
“Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. . . .” 

The doctrine is founded on a strong dualism. “We must keep 
in mind two antagonistic spirits: (1) The Spirit of the world, and 
(2), The Spirit of God.”’* Those who are controlled by this world 
are of the devil; those controlled by the spirit of God are the children 
of God; and the children of God are to have no fellowship with the 
children of the devil. 

As a result of over-emphasis on this point many sections of the 
denomination drifted into “isolation’’, or perhaps “insulation”. The 
community was content to move along with its own interests with 
little concern as to how or where the “world” was going. 

It should be said, however, in fairness to a large and rapidly 
growing group within the denomination, that since the establishment 
of colleges by the denomination there has come a very great change 


* Kauffman—Bible Doctrines—p., 511. 


46 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


in the matter of “‘separation’”’; not that the doctrine has been dis- 
carded, but that it is being given a-new and vital interpretation. 
“Separation” is coming to mean and imply the maintenance of identi- 
ty and the giving of ones self in sacrificial service to the “world”, 
Jesus himself being the ideal example. 


CONCERNING THE CHURCH 


In the Dort Confession we have the following statement con- 


cerning the Church: 


“We believe in and confess a visible Church of God, con- 
sisting of those, who .. . have truly repented, and rightly be- 
lieved; who are rightly baptised, united with God in heaven, 
and incorporated into the communion of the saints on earth. 
And these, we confess, are a chosen generation, a royal priest- 
hood, an holy nation, who have the testimony that they are 
the bride of Christ; yes, that they are children and heirs of 
eternal life. . .. This Church of the living God, which He has 
purchased and redeemed through his own precious blood... 
no winds or floods, yea, not even the gates of hell shall prevail 
against her, may be known by her evangelical faith, doctrine, 
love and godly conversation: also by her pure walk and prac- 
tie ure. 


The congregational form of Church government has always been 
basic and fundamental in Mennonitism. Each congregation was in- 
dependent and exercised its own discipline. Elders were chosen with 
the unanimous consent of the congregation. There was, however, a 
tie of mutual love and brotherhood between the different congrega- 
tions and they sent delegates to their yearly meetings. The yearly 
meeting could in no way constrain the independent congregation; it 
could only advise.* This congregational polity was built on the 
original Anabaptist doctrine.t Only in recent years has there come 
a strong drift toward the Episcopal system of Church government, 
namely a government by Bishops. This is an innovation, a departure 
from the “Faith of our Fathers”, and is responsible for much of the 
present unrest and tendency toward further divisions. The Epis- 
copal system of government may work fairly well in large cities, yet 
it never can be made to work in a rural constituency among farmers, 
men who live independently, especially if the people have for four 


* Barclay—Inner Life of Religious Societies—p. 87#. 
~ Dosker—The Dutch Anabaptists—p, 281 


The Ethics of Mennonitism 47 


hundred years been taught and permitted a congregational polity. 

Until more recent years the Mennonites had no bells on their 
churches, neither did they use musical instruments in worship. The 
reason for this is evident. During the persecutions they were re- 
quired to worship in secret or not at all. Asa result their places of 
worship had no towers and no bells, neither musical instruments. 
They entertained no conscience, nor did they present any Scripture 
against the use of instruments. In later years, a conscience de- 
veloped through the pressure of custom and tradition, sup- 
posedly on the basis of Scripture, against bells, musical instruments 
and the like. In more recent years through the influence of Christian 
education these things have come into use in many sections. 

It should be noted that among the various branches of American 
Mennonites there is a general agreement on the essential Christian 
doctrines and that their points of difference are invariably in matters 
which are not essential to Christian living. Their agreements are 
more significant than their disagreements, and would fully justify 
union, at least hearty cooperation. 

The present status of affairs in the denomination is largely due 
to the fact that from about 1650 to 1850, a period of two hundred 
years or more, the Mennonites made very little progress, their re- 
ligious activities being limited almost entirely to an inner program of 
severe, if not fatal, discipline. They had no institutions of higher 
learning, no foreign or home missions, their entire attention being 
consumed on themselves. The result was a diminishing, rather than 
an increasing, membership. 

It is in view, finally, of these ethical ideals in conjunction with 
accumulated custom and tradition, and their resulting conditions, that 
we must interpret recent educational movements within the denom- 
ination. The passing leadership entertains fears that with the elim- 
ination of wornout customs and traditions the old doctrinal land- 
marks will also be removed. The rising generation of leadership is 
interested no less in doctrines but is becoming increasingly interested 
in men and their salvation. The severe struggles through which 
Mennonite Colleges have been required to pass in recent years is due 
in large measure to this fear on the part of a retiring leadership. 


: 


eaten 


Raa 
if } iat 7 v 





URN De Ll 


ELEMENTARY AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 
FROM 1683 TO THE PRESENT TIME 


CEA PU ERy LV: 


EARLY AMERICAN MENNONITE EDUCATION 


1. General Colonial Conditions. What schools there were 
among the early American Colonies resembled those of European 
countries from which the Colonial people came. The people brought 
with them to America their peculiar religious ideals and traditions to 
some extent. Those influenced by Calvinistic ideals tended toward 
universal education, while those dominated by the Anglican ideals 
tended toward the aristocratic ideals in education. 

Three types of schools resulted: (1) The Laissez faire in Vir- 
ginia; the (2) The Parochial in New Netherlands, and (3), the Gov- 
ernmental in Massachusetts. Pennsylvania and the Mennonites were 
influenced by the Parochial type, or the Church School, similar to 
New Netherlands, except that it was carried on in connection with 
a number of creeds, and that the municipality was seldom a coor- 
dinate factor. The Quaker Government of Pennsylvania was more 
attractive to the early Mennonites and a variety of other German 
sects, than New York. Pennsylvania had the spirit and atmosphere 
of tolerance and it was in quest for religious tolerance that Mennon- 
ites left Europe originally. Early in the 18th century all Protestant 
religious bodies were authorized by statute to conduct schools and to 
receive bequests and hold land for their support.* 

2. Education Until 1776. Had it not been for the efforts of 
religious denominations during this period very little evidently would 
have been done. Wickersham characterises the period as follows: 
“The Provincial authorities of Pennsylvania ..... did next to 


~* Graves—A Student’s History of Education—p,. 187{ 


4 


50 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


nothing to promote the cause of general education during the long 
period from the beginning of the 18th century to the end of their rule 
in 1776. Charters were granted to a few educational institutions, 
some laws were passed securing to religious societies the right to hold 
property for school purposes .... but this was all. Penn’s broad 
policy . . . was virtually abandoned. Intellectual darkness would 
have reigned supreme throughout the Province (Pennsylvania), had 
not the various Churches and the people themselves been more alive 
to the importance of the subject than the government.”* 


EARLY MENNONITE EDUCATION 


Mennonite history in America began on October 6th., 1683 at 
Philadelphia, not taking into account the efforts of Plockhoy. Very 
early after reaching America they established their schools. 

1. The First Mennonite School. The first Mennonite educa- 
tional institution established in America was established in German- 
town, Pennsylvania, in 1702, with Francis Daniel Pastorius as teach- 
er. While this was the first established school, it is evident that the 
Mennonites conducted elementary educational work for their chil- 
dren from the time they first reached America. It is very likely that 
both Mennonites and Quakers sent their children to the Germantown 
school to Pastorius. It was in 1697 that a community Church was 
built and religious services began, the Mennonites and Friends wor- 
shiping together. The Mennonites, however, soon observed that if 
they were to maintain their identity they must have their own house 
of worship and their own school. They accordingly, built their first 
church house in 1708, the building being a log structure, and used 
also as a school house for many years. It was here that Christopher 
Dock, as we shall note later, did much of his teaching. 

2. Other Mennonite Schools in Pennsylvania. It was in 1702 
that a settlement of Mennonites was begun at Skippack, Perkiomen 
Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Over 6,000 acres of 
land was purchased in that neighborhood by Matthias van Bebber, a 
wealthy Mennonite, who gave one hundred acres for a Meeting- 


* Wickersham—History of Education in Pennsylvania—p. 78. 


Early American Mennonite Education Sil 


house. The Meeting-house was erected in 1725, and connected with 
it was the noted school so long taught by Christopher Dock, “The 
Pious Schoolmaster of the Skippack’. 

From 1725 until about 1800 the Mennonites in Pennsylvania 
conducted elementary schools at various points. Branching out from 
the settlement at Germantown along the Skippack, they scattered 
into the adjoining counties, and wherever they went they built church- 
es and established schools. Before 1740 they established a school in 
Upper Hanover, Montgomery County. And there are records show- 
ing that about the same time they erected buildings for church and 
school purposes in Lehigh County, one between Coopersburg and 
Center Valley, and the other in upper Milford. The latter was built 
of logs and divided into two apartments by a swinging partition sus- 
pended from the ceiling, the one apartment being used for religious 
meetings and the other for a school. The Mennonites of Bedminster, 
Bucks County, built a stone meeting-house in 1776, and opened a 
school init. A little later there was a school connected with the Men- 
nonite Church in Schuylkill Township, Chester County. There are 
upwards of a score of communities, off-shoots probably of the parent 
community at Germantown and Skippack, through Eastern Pennsyl- 
vania. Whether all of these communities supported schools of their 
own, or whether they joined with their neighbors in the support of a 
common school, we can not certainly say. It is known, however, that 
there was a Mennonite School at Saucon, Lehigh County, as early as 
1745, and one at Salford, Montgomery County, about as old. There 
seems to be no doubt that all the children of the several communities 
learned at least to read and write. 

The oldest Mennonite Church in Lancaster County is the one 
built near Willow Street about 1711. In this building school was 
taught for many years. The Mellinger’s Meeting-house in East Lam- 
peter Township, and the school house that stood near it are very old. 
In 1792 a building was erected near Oregon, mainly by the Mennon- 
ites, and used for both a meeting-mouse and a school house for nearly 
fifty years. There are also two other buildings in the north-eastern 
part of Menheim Township prior to 1800 each used for both school 
and church purposes. Warwick Township had three such combined 


4 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


meeting-house and school house. There was one in Bracknock Town- 
ship, near Good’s Mill, and one or two buildings of the same kind 
could be found in every township in Lancaster County, largely set- 
tled by Mennonites. The old meeting-house in Derry Township, 
Dauphin County, was also used as a school.* 


Due to the fact that the Mennonites kept no record of their 
school work it is not possible to give a complete account of what 
they did during these early colonial days. 


3. Henry Funk. One of the most able, intelligent and enter- 
prising preachers, and for a long time bishop in what is now Mont- 
gomery County, Pennsylvania, was Henry (Heinrich) Funk. He 
wrote a book on Baptism, entitled, “Ein Spiegel der Taufer’’, pub- 
lished by Saur in 1744. The book passed through five editions. A 
more ambitious effort was his “Erklarung einiger Hauptpunkte 
des Gesetzes,” (Restitution, Or An Explanation of Several Prin- 
cipal Points of the Law 1763), published after his death, in 1763.7 
He and Dielman Kolb supervised the translation of Thielman Van 
Braght’s “Martyrer-Spiegel”, (Ephrata, 1748), from the Dutch to 
the German, and certified to its correctness. Funk was a great- 
great-grandfather of Bishop John F. Funk of Elkhart, Indiana. 
He died in 1760. £ His contribution to education was not so much 
in the school room as it was in providing literature which was read 
by Mennonites for a number of generations. 


4. Attitude Toward Higher Education. During the Colonia! 
days the Mennonites were evidently carrying out the injunction of 
Menno Simons when he urged that all children be taught to read 
and write, to spin and to do other necessary and proper work, suit- 
ed to their years and persons. There is no record that the Men- 
nonites did anything more in education than elementary work be- 
fore about the middle of the 19th century. Evidently higher edu- 
cation was not greatly favored in America. In Europe, however, 
the Mennonites established a college about 1750, which exists to 


* Wickersham—History of Education in Pennsylvania—p, 164f 
7 An original copy in Witmarsum Library 
~ Penna. Magazine of Hist. and Biography—Vol. II, p. 134 


Early American Mennonite Education 50 


this day rather in the form of a Theological Seminary in connec- 
tion with the University of Amsterdam. In America the Mennon- 
ites had no colleges until after the Civil War. 


FRANCIS DANIEL PASTORIUS 


A history of education among the Mennonites of America 
would not be complete without definite reference to Francis Dan- 
iel Pastorius, neither would it be fair to such an important person 
to pass him by with brevity. 

1. Early Life. Pastorius was born in Germany on Septem- 
ber 26th, 1651. He was baptised the following day under the 
sponsorship of the high wellborn Franciscus of Limburg Hereditary 
Cup-bearer of the Holy Roman Empire and Semper Free, and of 
the most worthy and erudite Daniel Gering, Doctor of Laws. He 
started to school at the age of seven. He went to the Latin School, 
or Gymnasium. He attended four great universities, namely, Alt- 
dorf, Strassburg, Basel, and Jena.* He was made Doctor of Laws 
at Nuremberg in 1676 and was master of the principal ancient and 
modern languages. + 

2. To Pennsylvania. In the “Old South Leaflets”, number 
95, is the following statement: “Francis Daniel Pastorius, the 
founder of Germantown. ... was born in 1651 in Franconia, the 
son of a judge. He was educated in the classics and modern lan- 
guages and all the sciences of his age, and had entered upon the 
practice of law, when, having joined the pietists, he consented with 
his friends to plan for emigration to Pennsylvania. Pastorius had 
formed the acquaintance of William Penn in England, and became 
a convert to his doctrines. He and his associates formed the Frank- 
fort Land Company, who, with some merchants from Crefeld, 
bought thirty or forty thousand acres in Pennsylvania. . . . Until 
his death, in 1719, he was a man of great influence among the 
colonists jia'h.s'3 - Pastorius taught for many years in Germantown 
and Philadelphia. . . . He was a most prolific writer, upon all sorts 


* Learned—Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius—p. 52f 
+ Wickersham—History of Education in Pennsylvania—p, 161 


54 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


of subjects, although most of his work remained in manuscript.” 


In a personal letter to his father, dated June 7th., 1683, Pas- 
torius states why he left his native land. For one reason he says 
that he might escape the vanities of the Old world and live a quiet 
Christian life in the wilds of America. He was tired of Europe. 


In the Old South Leaflet, noted above, Pastorius gives a de- 
scription of Pennsylvania, and among other things of interest he 
says: “The German Society (Frankfort Land Company) commis- 
sioned myself, Francis Danial Pastorius, as their licensed agent, to 
go to Pennsylvania and to superintend the purchase and survey of 
their lands. I set out from Frankfort on The Mayne, went to Lon- 
don where I made the purchase, and then embarked for America. . . 
On the 7th day of June, 1683, set sail with a company of eighty 
persons. On the 16th day of August, 1683, we came in sight of the 


American Continent. .. The 20th . . . we arrived toward evening 
at Philadelphia. . . Where we were welcomed with great joy and 
love by the Governor, William Penn. . . He at once made me his 
confidential friend... . ” 


3. Religious Affiliations. Concerning the religious affiliations 
of Pastorius there seems to be difference of opinion. John G. 
Whittier, the Quaker poet, says that “Soon after his arrival (in 
America) he united himself with the Society of Friends, and he be- 
came one of its most able and devoted members, as well as the 
recognized head and law-giver of the settlement.” * Dr. Rufus 
Jones says that he had been a Mennonite. But he and his 
friends, after settling in Germantown, were identified with the 
Friends.” + Dr. C. H. Smith says that he was neither a Mennonite 
nor a Quaker. Dr. Learned says: “Although he associated him- 
self with the Pietists of the Spener circle in Frankfort-on-the-main 
and was on friendly terms with the Quakerized Mennonites in 
Crefeld. . . and other places in Germany, there is no positive evi- 
dence that he had renounced his allegiance to the Lutheran faith 


* Old South Leaflets—No. 95 
+ Jones—The Quakers in the American Colonies—p, 441 


Early American Mennonite Education ao 


upon his arrival in America. . . He gives no clear statement as to 
his own sectarian attitude as between Lutherans and Quakers.” 


In.as much as the Mennonites and Quakers worshiped to- 
gether until 1790, or perhaps later, it seems evident that Pastorius 
would be closely associated with them; in fact the records of the 
Friend’s Monthly Meetings clearly show that he was. But as to 
his actual denominational affiliations no positive conclusion has 
been reached. It is altogether likely that he remained a Lutheran, 
sympathized strongly with the Mennonites, and leaned heavily to- 
ward the Quakers. 


4. The Slavery Protest. Whittier says that in 1688 Pastorius 
drew up a memorial against slaveholding, which was adopted by 
the Germantown Friends, and sent up to the Monthly Meeting, and 
thence to the Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia. It is noteworthy as 
the first protest made by a religious body against negro slavery. The 
original document was discovered in 1844, by the Philadelphia 
Antiquarian, Nathan Kite, and published in The Friend, Volume 
XVIII, Number 16. * 


Concerning this protest Learned says that there is no direct 
evidence that Pastorius formulated it. Yet, it is his handwriting. 
and was signed by himself and others on February 18, 1688. 
It is entirely possible that Pastorius, having some legal training and 
experience, was secured by the others to draft the protest, and be- 
ing in full sympathy with it signed with them. 


5. His Educational Career. Our present interests in Pastor- 
ius are primarily educational. Learned says that he, with others, 
urged free schools in Philadelphia and that Pastorius himself 
taught in Philadelphia (1698) in a Friend’s School. This school 
kept eight hours daily except on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. 
It was Pastorius who first proposed to open a school in German- 
town in 1700. The school was opened on January 11th, 1702, nine- 
teen years after his landing. It was to this school that the early 
Mennonites sent their children. Both boys and girls were admitted 


~ Learned—Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius—p. 218 
* Old South Leaflets—No. 95 


56 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


to the school. Voluntary subscriptions, from two to ten shillings 
annually, were made by contributors. Those who paid tuition gave 
from four to six shillings per week. In connection with this day 
school there was also an evening school for those who were not able 
to attend during the day. All of this being done without legal 
compulsion and without distinction of sex, shows how far in advance 
were the early German settlers in Pennsylvania. English was like- 
ly the common language. How long Pastorius continued in Ger- 
mantown is not stated, likely until about 1718. * 

6. Particular Contributions. Besides his contributions in the 
teaching profession, Pastorius also made valuable contributions in 
his writings. He wrote a great deal. His most important edu- 
cational work was, “A New Primer—Or Methodical Directions 
to Attain. the True Spelling, Reading and Writing of English, Etc., 
printed by William Bradford of New York and sold by the author 
in Pennsylvania. + This book, of which a single copy only seems 
to be extant was the first original school book printed in Pennsyl- 
vania. Besides this he wrote forty-three works on moral, religious, 
educational subjects. These manuscripts were never published and 
are not available today; all we have is a catalog of their titles. £ 

Concerning the death of Pastorius we have little, if any, authen- 
tic information. The last twenty years of his life he taught school. 
Quoting Professor Oswald Seidensticker, Whittier says: “No 
tombstone, not even a record of burial, indicates where his remains 


have found their last resting place. . . . There is no reason to sup- 
pose that he was interred in any other place than the Friend’s old 
burying ground in Germantown. . . ”’ Edwin C. Jellett, of German- 


town, under date of Sept. 3, 1908, writes: “There is a tradition in 
Germantown, that he was buried in the ‘Geissler Burying Ground.’ 
This I believe, though I can not prove. . . . The lot is now partially 
covered by the vestry room of St. Michael’s P. E. Church. .. ” * 
In conclusion it is evident that the early history of the Men- 


* Learned—Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius—p. 166f. 

+ Ibid. p. 232 

¢ Pennypacker—Penna. German Society—Vol. IX, p. 115. 
* Learned—Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius—p. 286 


Early American Mennonite Education 57 


nonites in America shows a good degree of interest in elementary 
education. Had the records been kept, and the facts fully known, 
it would likely not be difficult to show that the denomination com- 
pared very favorably at the time with the more progressive denomi- 
nations in elementary and practical education.. Such men as Pas- 
torius and Dock were very popular in colonial times and evidently 
most Mennonite schools were patterned after those of Germantown 
and Skippack. 


CHAPTER 


CHRISTOPHER DOCK AND HIS EDUCATIONAL PHIL- 
OSOPHY 


Until about thirty years ago the name of Christopher Dock, 
“The Pious Schoolmaster on The Skippack’, was practically un- 
known in educational circles. During later Colonial times, about 
the middle of the 18th century, he was known in eastern Pennsyl- 
vania as the foremost man in the teaching profession. One reason 
why we have heard so little about Dock and his methods is due 
evidently to the fact that he, on religious grounds, avoided anything, 
especially in publications, which gave publicity either to himself or 
his work. 


It is the present purpose to examine and interpret the ed- 
ucational ideals and methods of the Colonial educator with the 
view of estimating his educational philosophy, and with the added 
view of bringing to the attention of students of education the work 
of a man, who, like Comenius, was hidden too long under the ruins 
of historic forgetfulness. 


The printed sources of our information concerning the phil- 
osophy of Dock are limited almost entirely to his “SCHULORD- 
NUNG’”, or “School Management’’, in which he sets forth the man- 
ner in which children may best be taught-in the branches usually 
given in school, and also how they may be instructed in the knowl- 
edge of Godliness. This work was printed by Christopher Saur, in 
1770, in Germantown, Pennsylvania, an original copy of which is 
now in the Schwenkfelder library at Pennsburg. 


We have a further source in the “GEISTLICHES MAGA- 
ZIN”, Numbers 40 and 41, published also by Saur, in which 
Dock gives two hundred rules of conduct for children. A transla- 
tion of these rules, as well as a copy of “Schul-Ordnung”’,, may be 
seen in M. G. Brumbaugh’s “Life and Works of Christopher Dock.” 


Christopher Dock and His Educational Philosophy 59 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 


Dock was a native of Germany. The exact date of his birth 
is not known. He was a product, however, of the 18th century. 
John Amos Comenius, the Moravian educator preceded him about 
one hundred years. Des Cartes, the philosopher; John Milton, 
the poet; and Locke, the champion of truth and reason, lived in the 
century preceding him. Voltaire, the skeptic, and Rousseau, the 
man of nature, were among his contemporaries. Basedow, the ex- 
ponent of Comenius; Pestalozzi, with his reform through universal 
education; Froebel, with his Kindergarten, and Herbart, with his 
“unity” and “affinity”, followed him. | 


It was some time between 1710 and 1714 that Dock came to 
America. He located, as a young man, on a farm near Philadel- 
phia. What his educational qualifications were we do not know. 
But being of an intellectual and religious turn of mind he was soon 
influenced by his friends to give himself to the education of the 
German children of the neighborhood. It was in Montgomery 
County, Pennsylvania, on the Skippack, among the Mennonites, 
about 1714, that he began his teaching career. Teaching from 
1714 to 1735 he returned to the farm until about 1738 when he 
again took up his teaching. It was in 1738 that he opened two 
schools, one on the Skippack, and one in Salford. He taught in 
these schools alternately, three days each. In the present German- 
town Mennonite Meeting-house may yet be seen the table and bench 
used by Dock in his teaching. 


Wickersham notes that Dock’s skill as a teacher became so 
widely known that Christopher Saur, the Germantown publisher, 
and former pupil of Dock, conceived the design of obtaining from 
him a description of his school work with a view of its publication. * 
Accordingly, Saur, in 1749, requested Dock to write a treatise on 
his methods of teaching and school management. It was the pur- 
pose of Saur to publish this treatise for the benefit of parents and 
teachers. But to -such publicity the humble spirit of Dock would 


* Wickersham—History of Education in Pennsylvania—p, 222 


ol Education Among the Mennonites of America 


not consent. Saur finally accomplished his purpose in obtaining 
the treatise through Dielman Kolb, a mutual friend. Kolb sub- 
mitted to Dock a list of questions for his written answers. Dock 
finally consented to answer the questions on condition that nothing 
be published while he lived. The result was that on August 8th, 
1750, there appeared the manuscripts of “Schul-Ordnung”, which 
in 1770 resulted in “The oldest work on the art of teaching publish- 
ed in Pennsylvania, or in the United States.” + Only two or three 
of the original copies of this work are extant. 

In the ‘‘Geistliches Magazin”, noted above, appear rules of 
conduct for children. Section I, in his “One hundred rules of con- 
duct for children”, give rules for the conduct of the child in the 
house of its parents, touching points of conduct during and after 
rising in the morning, at meals and on retiring at night. Section 
II, gives rules of conduct for a child at school. Section III, gives 
rules of conduct’ for a child on the streets. Section IV, conduct 
in the meeting of the Church. Section V, general rules. 

In his ‘One Hundred Christian Rules for Children”, Section 
I, he gives rules of conduct toward God. In Section II, rules of 
conduct toward one’s neighbor. Section III, rules of conduct of 
a child toward himself. All of these rules are ethical and religious 
in content and must be taken into account in a proper estimate of 
Dock’s philosophy. These rules of conduct constitute the first 
American book on the subject of etiquette. * 


DOCK’S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 


By the philosophy of education, as used in this connection, is 
meant the common inquiry as to the meaning and implications of 
education and the educative process. The philosophy of Dock may 
be conveniently summarized around four particular principles, 
namely, (1) Psychological; (2) Pedagogical; (3) Education in 
Religion and Morals; and (4), his Social Theory. 


+ Wickersham—History of Education in Pennsylvania—p. 657 
Graves—A History of Education in Modern Times—p. 100 


* Wickersham—History of Education in Pennsylvania—p. 225 


Christopher Dock and His Educational Philosophy 61 


1. Psychological Principles. While psychology, as a science 
in the modern sense, was practically unknown in his day, yet, Dock, 
in numerous instances, used interesting psychology. His psychology 
was not perfect; it was crude in many respects. But in his Schul- 
Ordnung some interesting examples appear in the following con- 
nections : 

(1) In His Method of Receiving Pupils. On the question 
of how he receives children into school Dock says: ‘The child is 
first given a welcome by the other children, who extend their hands 
to him. Then I ask him if he will be dilligent and obedient. If he 
promises this, he is told how to behave... . ” * 

Evidently it was Dock’s idea to at once have the pupil feel 
welcome and to be relieved of all unnatural strains and embarrass- 
ment, and to come at once into personal contact with himself and 
others. A comfortable relationship was to be developed from the 
first, and the pupil was to be fitted immediately into the school 
community. One thinks of Pestalozzi in this connection. 


(2) Attention and Response. The creation of a situation 
and the obtaining of a response was a common practice of Dock. 
He says: fsa 
“Tf a child is backward or ignorant, I ask another, or the 

whole class, and the first one that points out the right letter, I 

grasp his finger and hold it until I have put a mark opposite his 

name. ... Which ever child has during the day received the 

greatest number of marks....to him I owe something— 

a flower drawn on paper or a bird. But if several have the 

same number, we draw lots. ... In this way not only are 

the timid cured of their shyness (which is a great hindrance 

in learning), but a fondness for school is increased.” + 

It is not difficult in this method of Dock’s to observe our mod- 
ern view of the relation of “respense” to “situation”. Dock se- 
cures in this method four things, namely, attention, interest, desire 
and action. 

(3) Separate Treatment. Dock evidently recognized the fact 
that boys and girls could not be treated successfully en masse. He 


recognized the age characteristics as being in some degree different 


* Brumbaugh—The Life and Works of Christopher Dock—p. 104 
+ Ibid. p. 107f. 


62 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


in boys and girls, and calling for separate treatment. He says 
concerning the assembling of children at school: 


“Therefore, when a few children are present, those who 
can read their New Testament sit together on one bench; but 


the boys and the girls occupy separate benches. .. . Those 
reading newspapers and letters sit separately, and those 
doing sums sit separately...” * 


It would not be fair to say that Dock was modern in the matter 
of classification of pupils; but it is not too much to say that he 
recognized a principle which is today emphasized a great deal, 
namely, proper grading of pupils. 

(4) Individual Treatment. While mental tests were unknown 
in his day, yet, Dock knew that children in elementary schools did 
not progress with equal intellectual rapidity. He knew that pupils 
could not be treated with uniformity. He says: + 


“Now experience teaches that a timid child is harmed 
rather than benefited by harsh words and much application 
of the rod, and to improve it, other means must be employed. 
Likewise a stupid child is only harmed. A child that is 
treated to too much flogging at home is not benefited by it 
at school, but is made still worse. ... A stubborn child that 
does not fear to do wrong needs to be sharply punished with 
the rod, and also earnestly reminded of God’s word, in hope 
of reaching the heart. But the timid and stupid must be 
reached by other means that make them more free in spirit 


and more desirous to learn... It is preferable to bring the 
children to do things from a love of doing than to force them 
by the rod.” 


While crude in some respects, yet, in this statement may be 
seen the elements of mental tests and measurements, wise diagnosis 
of each individual case, and a learning process motivated by the 
love of doing. 

(5) Apperception. Dock repeatedly gives expression to this 
principle. He was not in favor of teaching children formal doc- 
trine which they were not able to understand or assimilate. Con- 
cerning the teaching’ of the Lord’s prayer and the ten command- 
ments, he says: * 


* Brumbaugh—The Life and Works of Christopher Dock—pp. 105, 108 
~ Ibid. p. 122f. 
* Ibid. p. 105 


Christopher Dock and His Educational Philosophy 63 


“As much as they can understand of the Lord’s prayer 
and the ten commandments. (according to the gift God has 
given them), I exhort and admonish them accordingly.” 


Is not this, though crudely stated, our modern principle of 
teaching by leading from the known to the unknown? Is it not 
our modern method of producing the desired response by the cre- 
ation of a productive situation? 

(6) Impression and Expression. In Schul-Ordnung we 
have repeated illustrations where Dock made special effort to im- 
press truth, especially religious truth, upon his pupils both by pre- 
cept and example. His own life, his attitude, his spiritual and re- 
ligious personality, made deep and lasting impressions upon his 
pupils. One interesting means of expression was his method of 
conducting correspondence betweert the pupils of his two schools. 
For twelve years he conducted two schools, the one in Skippack, 
the other in Salford. Under his direction the pupils of these 
schools carried on a system of letter writing, Dock himself serving 
as letter carrier. The contents of the letters consisted of short 
rhyme, or passage of Scripture, or of questions to be answered by 
a passage of Scripture. 

2. Pedagogical Principles. It was not Dock’s intention to 
write a book on pedagogics; he was simply answering the questions 
of his friends, Saur and Kolb. But in his answers he displays some 
good pedagogical methods. 

(1) Concerning the Force of Ideals. Dock sees the source 
of the wickedness of youth in the imaginations of the heart. Un- 
less this impure spring can be rooted out there is little hope of 
improvement. Corporal punishment can prevent wicked outbursts, 
but it can not change the stubborn heart. So long as the heart is 
unchanged or renewed by the Spirit of God there is little of 
righteousness to be expected.* 


In his Rules of conduct he says: + 


; “Accustom thy imagination to proper form. Do not 
imagine the joys of the world lovelier and true Christianity 
more difficult than they really are. Learn betimes to curb 


* Brumbaugh—The Life and Works of Christopher Dock—p. 112 
+ Ibid. Rules Number, 79, 80, 82, 83, 17, and 18 


64 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


thy affections and emotions that they do not enslave thee. 

Anger, envy and jealousy are tormentors of the soul. Beware 

of their power. Let no rank or improper lusts arise in thy 

heart, for they destroy body and soul. Impress deeply upon 

thy heart the divine qualities taught in the Scriptures. God is 

a spirit, serve Him in spirit and in truth, and seek to unify 

His spirit and thine through faith and love.” 

Is not the efficiency and effectiveness of an’ inner, vital and 
dynamic ideal, rather than the application of outward force, which 
Dock here advocates, precisely what our best educators today are 
urging upon us? 

(2) Concerning Discipline. In extreme cases, corporal pun- 
ishment, according to Dock, was the only effective course to pursue 
in the prevention of wicked outbursts, but it was no means of chang- 
ing a bad heart. The discipline of Dock aimed to go deeper and 
to remove evil propensities by the roots. 

One of his methods of discipline was that of creating pride in 
each pupil. If a pupil fails unnecessarily he is called “lazy” by the 
entire class and his name is written down. Whether the child fear 
the rod or not, says Dock, this method hurts more than the use 
of the rod. When a pupil who has been called lazy redeems him- 
self he is then called “diligent”? and his name erased and the past 
forgotten. 


(3) Concerning Rewards. When an entering pupil reached 
a certain stage in his education; ‘““When he can say his A B C’s 
and point out each letter with his index finger. . . . his father owes 
him a penny, and his mother must fry him two eggs for his dil- 
igence, and the same reward is due him for each advance. . ” * This 
is but one illustration of Dock’s method in the matter of rewards. 
His rewards were never great, but generally of a nature that would 
appeal to the average boy or girl, and they were given not so much 
as a compliment on past success as a stimulant to future effort. 

(4) Concerning Recreation. The problem of recreation in 
colonial days was not the same as today. That was a day of hand 
labor; this a day of machines. That was the day of the ox-cart; 


~ Brumbaugh—The Life and Works of Christopher Dock—p. 106 
* Ibid. p. 104 


Christopher Dock and His Educational Philosophy 65 


this the day of motor cars. Dock placed little, if any, emphasis on 
physical education other than that of ordinary day labor. In Schul- 
Ordnung he says: 7 


“As the children carry their dinner, an hour’s liberty 
is given them after dinner. But as they are usually inclined 
to misapply their time if one is not constantly with them, 
one or two of them must read a story of the Old Testament, 
which I write copies for them. This exercise continues 
through the noon hour.” 


The social and economic conditions of his day were of such a 
nature that physical education was not greatly in demand. Prac- 
tically all of Dock’s pupils were either from the farm or had been 
taught to work. 

3. Education in Religion and Morals. Dock, Comenius and 
Erasmus were quite in agreement in matters of religion and morals. 
The three held that learning, morality, religion, and good manners 
must develop together; that education should start in infancy with 
the mother. Dock placed special emphasis on moral and ethical 
qualities. Education in religion and morals was basic. 

(1) The Place of The Bible. In the matter of teaching the 
Catechism or the Bible Dock says: * 


“IT may say that in my experience in this country I have 
had, at my school, children of various denominations, so that 
I could not teach them the same catechism. Nor have I such 
a catechism included, but when the children have learned 
to read well, the parents at home have to teach them the 
catechism themselves. .. Besides this, it has been my aim 
to make them familiar with the New Testament from the 
exercises of finding chapters. This has been quite success- 
ful, so that when a passage was mentioned, they turn to it 
and read it without being prompted.” 


Dock then proceeds to teach and illustrate the great principles 
of faith and faithlessness, justice and injustice, chastity and un- 
chastity, humility and vanity. When each virtue has been ex- 
plained by him he asks his pupils to find passages in Scripture illus- 
trating the virtues. This is done, he says, + 

“In order to have them find all the rare Bible gems which 
express these qualities. It also becomes evident that the 
+ Brumbaugh—The Life and Works of Christopher Dock—p. 109 
PeLGId Cpe se 
7 Ibid. p. 133 


66 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


more passages are found dealing with a certain quality, the 

more clearly does the truth of the same appear. In this way 
one passage of scripture serves not only to fix another one 

in memory, but also to elucidate and explain it. After the 

references have all been read, the children are asked several 

questions, which are easily answered from such refer- 

ENCES alain! 

For Dock there is no real education without religion; and 
there is no real and vital religion without education. The two are 
so closely united that they can not be separated without doing 
violence to both. The Bible was one of Dock’s chief text-books. 

(2) Ethics. The ethical note in the philosophy of Dock is 
very strong. In his One Hundred Christian Rules for Children, 
thirty-six have to do with one’s relation and conduct toward God; 
twenty-eight with conduct toward one’s neighbor; and _ thirty-six 
with one’s relation and conduct toward self. Concerning God, who 
is eternal, holy, just, wise and omniscient, one should unite their 
spirit with Him, be cleansed by faith and ruled by His spirit. Con- 
cerning one’s neighbor, whether friend or foe, love should be ex- 
tended, the golden rule observed, evil should not be returned for 
evil, nor insult for insult, and no opportunity for doing good should 
be missed. Concerning one’s self he says: * 


“Thy immortal soul is the noblest part of thy being, 
therefore thou must take more care of it than thy mortal 
body. The nobility of thy soul consists in its union with 
God. ... Anger, envy and jealousy are tormentors of the 
soul... Be therefore careful, and do not expose thyself to 
dangers that menace body and health. ... Remember thou 
shalt not always live in this world, and prepare betimes for 
thy departure. ... Fear not death, for if thou has lived a 
Christian life, thou canst die blessed and happy.” 


It should be said in this connection that Dock was thoroughly 
evangelistic in his attitude. There were adult sinners who needed 
repentance and regeneration. + His main emphasis, however, was 
on Christian nurture and the gradual growth into Christian man- 
hood and womanhood. He would sympathize more with Horace 
Bushnell than with the modern sensational evangelist. 

(3) Moral Evils and How to Meet Them. It is evident from 


* Brumbaugh—The Life and Works of Christopher Dock—p. 214f. 
+ Ibid. p. 197 


Christopher Dock and His Educational Plulosophy 67 


Schul-Ordnung that Dock made particular study of several of the 
leading juvenile sins common in his day, namely, profanity, lying, 
stealing, and fighting, with a view of counteracting them. 

In the matter of profanity Dock would diagnose his cases 
seeking the cause. He found most frequently that profanity was 
due to the fact that children were ignorant of what they were saying. 
Lying, he found, to be the result of fear. When a pupil did wrong, 
fearing lest he would be punished, he would attempt concealment 
through lying. Stealing was the natural result of covetousness. 
Greed for honor led to quarrels. In every case Dock made an ef- 
fort to enlist the responsibilities and cooperation of parents in over- 
coming the evils. He always pointed out the moral significance of 
the evils, and, if after due and proper correction, the pupil con- 
tinued the evil, proper and due punishment was administered. 

4. Dock’s Social Theory. The social mind of Dock had not 
advanced as far as that of modern social thinkers, but it moved in 
the same direction and along the same basic lines. The common 
good of the people, here and now, regardless of wealth or poverty, 
was his supreme concern. In Schul-Ordnung he says: * 


“I also saw the degenerated condition of youth, and the 
many wrongs of this world by which adults spoiled and 


distressed youth... And I saw ... the unequal ability of 
parents in training their children. ... They teach their 
children evil by their own example.... The poor beggar 


child, scurfy, ragged and lousy, if otherwise it have a good 
disposition and willingness to learn, should be as dear to 
him though he never receives a penny for it in the world, 
as the child of wealth. ... It should be the supreme desire 
of every one to promote the glory of God and the common 
good, for this can make us happy here and in eternity.’’ 


Before concluding our study of Dock a word should be said 
concerning the source of his philosophy. While this likely will re- 
main more or less a speculative matter, yet we may fairly conclude 
that he was not a great admirer of Voltaire, neither a faithful ex- 
ponent of Rousseau. A study of Schul-Ordnung leads one to think 
that he was a great admirer of Comenius and was likely a close 
student of The Great Didactic. In spirit and religious attitude 
these two men have much in common. 


* Brumbaugh—The Life and Works of Christopher Dock—pp. 103, 101. 


68 Education Among the Mennomtes of America 


We may also fairly conclude that while Dock was not primar- 
ily interested in scientific pedagogy, yet he did work along basic 
lines; he did follow psychological laws in bringing childhood to 
maturity. His philosophy of education, though crude in some re- 
spects, did represent the pupil-centric type of thinking and 
method. The aim of education for him was the development of 
the innate powers, potentialities and capacities of the pupil toward 
a definite social goal, namely, a full and complete Christian per- 
sonality in the Kingdom of God; a socially adjusted individual, one 
with right relations with God, fellowmen and himself. 

Among the permanent contributions,'of Dock to educational 
theory and practice was his positive emphasis on free, undogmatic, 
non-ecclesiastical religious and moral education. Besides this he 
added dignity to the teaching profession. Competent teachers were 
rare in those days. Equipment was poor and unattractive to young 
men of energy and ability. Teachers salaries were poor and un- 
certain. The profession had a poor social standing. But with 
Dock’s attractive and successful methods dignity was added to the 
profession and the succeeding years found the profession more ear- 
nestly sought by stronger men. 

It was Dock’s custom each evening after the pupils had gone 
from school to remain in the school room and pray. He would, 
upon his knees, name each pupil before God and ask that he might 
be guided in doing the best for each one. One evening in the 
autumn of 1771 he failed to come home as usual. When a search 
was made he was found in the school room on his knees, dead. Thus 
ended the earthly career of one greatly admired and loved in his 
day ; one who is destined to be more and more appreciated by each 
succeeding generation. 


_—C 


CHAPTER VI 


THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 
(Old Conference) 


INTRODUCTION 


As previously noted it is most difficult, in fact impossible, to 
write a complete and accurate history of the religious and education- 
al movements among the Mennonites, due to the fact that until re- 
cent years no careful records have been kept by the denomination. 
It is the purpose of the author, in view of this condition, to present 
only such material and conclusions as the facts and evidence in hand 
will warrant. 

One thing is very evident, as well as characteristic of the Men- 
nonites, namely, that they have always taken their religion seriously, 
a personal knowledge of the Bible by each individual being positively 
urged. Every Mennonite family accepted as a duty the obligation of 
teaching their children the Christian religion and the ways of the 
Lord. This task they have never been willing to entrust to any one 
outside of the denomination. 


While the Sunday School is of comparatively recent origin within 
the denomination, yet it must always be kept in mind that Mennonites 
have never been without some form of religious instruction for the 
young. Early upon their arrival in America ways and means were 
provided for religious and Biblical instruction for their children. The 
elementary schools which they conducted during the Colonial period 
always emphasized réligion and religious education. Wayland makes 
the statement that “Forty years before (1740) Robert Raikes started 
his noted Sunday School movement, the Mennonites had a school 
near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where their children received instruc- 
tion in the three ‘R’s’ during the week and in the Bible on Sunday.’’* 
What Wayland notes in this connection is but one illustration of 


* Wayland—The German Element In The Shanandoah Valley—p, 120. 


70) Education Among the Mennomtes of America 


what was done by the Mennonites at a score or more of places in 
Pennsylvania during Colonial days and before the coming of the 
public schools. 

There are some sixteen or seventeen branches, or varieties of 
Mennonites in America, all of which came from the same original 
body, either directly or indirectly. The main line of this original 
body is today known as the “Old Mennonites”, in some places called 
the “American Mennonites”. During the past twenty-five or thirty 
years the Old Mennonites include in their bi-annual General Confer- 
ence, Mission Board, Publication Board, and Educational Board, a 
progressive wing of the “Amish” Mennonites, the Amish being a 
conservative off-shoot from the main body in Europe about 1693. 

At the present time the Old Mennonites represent the largest 
single group in America and represent the main line back to the days 
of the Anabaptists. This Conference has always been more con- 
servative on new departures than have the Conferences of more re- 
cent origin. In fact her hesitancy in adopting more progressive and 
effective methods and attitudes furnished the occasion for most of the 
more recent off-shoots resulting in the smaller branches. The desire 
for Sunday Schools, prayer meetings, evangelistic meetings, educa- 
tion and more progressive religious activities is what led groups at 
different times to move out of the Old Conference and to organize 
themselves into new and more aggressive bodies. At the present 
time the Old Conference is more conservative, less progressive, than 
many of her off-spring Conferences. Parents usually are more con- 
servative and less progressive than their children. 


RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION FROM 1775 TO 1850 


This particular period is something of a problem. It is to be 
hoped that some future historian may unearth historical material of 
this period which is today unavailable. It is nearly impossible to know 
the details during these years. One thing seems most evident, name- 
ly, that during these seventy-five years the Old Church was exer- 
cising most severe discipline with no vital or progressive program in 
execution. In view of the developments about 1850 one must believe 
that the period in question was one of religious formalism and rigid 


The Sunday School | /1 


+ 
and unwise discipline through which large groups of people were lost 
to the denomination. 


On the other hand it seems evident that opportunities for re- 
ligious and Biblical instruction during these years were not wholly 
lacking. While no great names or leaders appear during this time, 
yet it would be unreasonable to suppose that religious instruction died 
out with Christopher Dock. It is reasonable to suppose that the in- 
fluence of a man like Dock would be felt during this period. Men 
like Abram Hunsicker and his son Henry, in the building of Free- 
land Seminary in 1848, were products of the Dock type of mind. 
Then followed a few men like John F. Funk and John H. Oberholtzer 
during and following the Civil War. From this point to date we may 
be reasonably certain of the leading movements and events. 


The evidence thus far in hand will warrant the belief that from 
1775 to 1850, before the introduction of the Public School System in 
Pennsylvania, the Mennonites continued the work of religious in- 
struction in connection with their elementary schools, a decided 
change coming, however, with the introduction of the Public School. 
It is further evident that the Old Mennonite Conference had few, 
if any, permanent Sunday Schools before the Civil War. There were 
attempts made before the war, but likely none of them, because of 
opposition, carried over the war. It is further evident that the war 
served as an awakening in as much as immediately following the 
Sunday School movement was effectively begun. 


RELIGIOUS TEACHING FROM 1850 .TO 1867 


The years from 1850 to 1867 were years of awakening. Certain 
individuals, men of religious conviction, were making themselves 
felt. Freeland Seminary was bearing fruit. The religious instruc- 
tion of the period was due in a large measure to certain personalities, 
In the Old Conference there is one outstanding man, who, more than 
any other, was responsible for the creation of sentiment and the or- 
ganization of Sunday Schools, namely, John F. Funk. 

Funk was born in 1835 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 
and at this writing is still living and active. From his childhood he 


(2 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


attended Sunday School in other denominations in his neighborhood, 
there being no regular Sunday Schools at the time in the Mennonite 
denomination. He was also a student in Freeland Seminary in his 
youthful days. In about 1857 he went to Chicago where he made the 
personal acquaintance of D. L. Moody, who was just two years 
younger. In 1857-’58 there was a great revival in Chicago during 
which time many young people came into the Churches. In the 
Spring of 1858 the Chicago Young Men’s Christian Association was 
organized, Funk being among its first members. In the year 1857-58 
he attended the Bell and Sloan Business College and graduated with 
honors. On the last Sunday in May, 1865, he was ordained to the 
ministry. It was in 1864, while in Chicago, that he begun the publica- 
tion of the “Herald of Truth’, a monthly religious paper, “Devoted 
to the interests of the Denomination of Christians known as ‘The 
Mennonites’.”” It was in the columns of this paper that Funk fre- 
quently urged upon parents the duty of teaching and training their 
children in the sacred scriptures. 

1. Home Education. Some conception of the religious educa- 
tional ideals of the Old Mennonites near the time when the Sunday 
School came into the denomination may be gotten from a series of 
“Rules for Home Education” which Funk published in his paper in 
1866. They are as follows :* 


“From your children’s earliest infancy inculcate the neces- 
sity of instant obedience. Unite firmness with gentleness. 
Let your children always understand that you mean what you 
say. Never promise them unless you are quite sure that you 
can give them what you say. If you tell a little child to do 
something, show him how to do it, and see that it is done. 
Always punish your children for wilful disobedience, but never 
punish them in anger. Never let them perceive that they vex 
you or make you lose your command. If they give way to 
petulence or ill-temper, wait till they are calm, and then gently 
reason with them on the impropriety of their conduct. Re- 
member a little present punishment when the occasion arises, 
is much more effectual than the threatening of a greater pun- 
ishment should the fault be renewed. Never give your chil- 
dren anything because they cry for it. Teach them that the 
only way to appear good is to be good. Accustom them to 
make their little recitals with perfect truth. Never allow of 
tale-bearing. Teach them self-denial, not self-indulgence, of 
an angry and resentful spirit.” 


* Herald of Truth—August, 1866 


The Sunday School 73 


It was the frequent appearance of such articles in the publication 
mentioned which finally prepared the soil out of which the Sunday 
School finally grew in the Old Mennonite Church. 

2. Printed Bible Lessons. It was in January, 1867, that Funk 
began a series of printed Bible Lessons through the Herald of Truth. 
The lessons, four each month, appeared until September of the same 
year, covering thirty-two points of Christian doctrine, such as, God, 
Creation, Angels, Man, Sin, Redemption, Law, Faith, Repentance, 
Etc. The purpose was to furnish religious instruction for the young 
and was arranged in the form of questions and answers. In the first 


issue of four lessons the editor says :* 

“The following four lessons are intended, one for every 
Sunday in the month of January, and it is intended... to 
continue these lessons in each number .. one for each Sun- 
day ... the lessons to embrace a course of instruction in 
christian doctrine, through which those who study them may 
be established in the faith and practice of the Church of 
Christ and His Apostles. ... We hope all parents will see 
the necessity of this, and endeavor to have their children to 
learn them. A very good way, and one which we would 
recommend is to have the children commit the lessons during 
the week, and, on Sunday, let the parents take an pout and sit 
down with them, and have them repeat it..... 

While these lessons continued only until September of that year 
it was again a long step in the direction of the organized and per- 
manent Sunday School. 

3. Education Encouraged. It is interesting to note the evolu- 
tion of sentiment in favor of more Biblical education as a result of 
the articles appearing in the Herald. Particular individuals in dif- 
ferent sections of the Church began to realize the need of systematic 
religious training for the young. It was in October, 1867, that an 
interesting article appeared encouraging education. Among the va- 
rious subjects treated in the article were the following: True Knowl- 
edge Required and Encouraged; The Sin and Danger of Ignorance; 
The Benefit of Knowledge; True Knowledge essential to True Love; 
The Certain Knowledge of Divine Truth; How Can Knowledge and 
Wisdom be Attained? The interesting thing about the article is that 


it is a recital of scripture passages only, each subject being treated 


* Herald of Truth—January, 1867. 


(4 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


in words of Scripture exclusively. The article indicates that the 
whole Bible is in favor of education; which of course, is not un- 
true. 


INTRODUCTION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 


_ Every forward move in the Mennonite Church has been the re- 
sult of hard labor, against many odds, on the part of a few individ- 
uals. The birth of the Sunday School was not without the earnest, 
courageous and sacrificial service of a few men of conviction. 


1. Opposition. Definite and available evidence warrants the 
statement that the Old Conference not only had no approved Sunday 
Schools before the year 1867, but that it actively and aggressively, 
and by conference action, opposed Sunday Schools. Resolutions and 
decisions are on record for the year 1867 making it a serious offense 
for any member of the Church to take part in the organization or 
conducting of a Sunday School. The offense was so serious that one 
violating Conference rulings was subject to discipline and even ex- 
communication. The Sunday School was a ravenous “wolf in the 
camp” and was testified against in every conference and the mem- 
bers were warned not to have any part in it, as it certainly would lead 
into worldliness and worldly conformity.* About this same year 
(1867) Funk received a letter from a man in Virginia giving thirty- 
three “Scriptural” reasons why they should not have and could not 
tolerate Sunday Schools in the Church. Mennonite Sunday Schools, 
as most other vital and aggressive institutions, have been born in a 
manger; there was no room in the inn; they were born outside of 
the Church and later adopted by the Church. 


2. First Favorable Conference Action. For a number of years 
previous to 1867, in certain sections of the Old Church, many young 
people began to leave the Church and to join with other denomina- 
tions in which there were Sunday Schools. This fact led some of the 
leaders of the Church to see the need of the Sunday School. It was 
at the “Martins Church’, near Orrville, Ohio, that one of the Confer- 
ences finally, and for the first time, granted the privilege of organizing 


* Funk—Personal Interview. 


The Sunday School Ko 


Sunday Schools, and then only in such sections of the country where 
the young people were being lost to the denomination. But the con- 
ference was not unanimous and there was still strong opposition. 
But a strong plea was made by an old Bishop from Masontown, Penn- 
sylvaniat in which he said that in as much as they were a small con- 
gregation in the midst of other strong denominations, all of whom 
had Sunday Schools, the Mennonite children were induced to attend 
these outside Schools, and were thereby being led away from the 
mother Church. It was this argument which won the Conference de- 
cision in favor of granting Sunday Schools wherever similar condi- 
tions prevailed. The action of Conference was a new departure and 
was seriously criticized by other sections of the Church. 

The Orrville Conference (1867) passed two resolutions: (1) 
“Evening meetings, on account of the disorder which frequently pre- 
vails at them, should be avoided, except by ministers traveling, or 
where, on account of sickness or old age, persons are prevented from 
attending the usual services during the day. (2) Sunday School, 
when conducted in accordance with the teaching of the Bible, and 
kept free from the vain and corrupting customs now so prevalent in 
many places, may be maintained.’’* 

Though this was the first official permission in the Old Church 
to conduct Sunday School work, yet, it should be remembered that 
there were a few schools before this time, schools organized and con- 
ducted regardless of Conference rulings. It has been the salvation 
of the Old Church that in every generation there have been men of 
conviction, men who worked regardless of opposition. 

3. The First Sunday School. It is frequently reported that the 
first Mennonite Sunday School in America was organized at Berto- 
iet’s Mennonite Meeting-house, Fredrick, Pennsylvania, in the sum- 
mer of 1848, with George S. Nice as superintendent. This school, 
however, after a few years ceased to exist for lack of support, and 
further, it can hardly be called a “Mennonite” Sunday School as it 
was organized and conducted by others than Mennonites. Nice him- 
self was not a Mennonite. | 


+ Bishop Johnson. 
* Herald of Truth—May 12th, 1867. 


76 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


The fact of the matter is nobody knows when, where or by whom 
the first Mennonite Sunday School was conducted in America. The 
earliest school with documentary evidence is the one which was of- 
ganized in the “Lincoln Church’, Vineland, Ontario, Canada. Abram 
Eby, writing in “Der Mennonitische Friedensbote”’, May 15, 1872, 
says :* 

“In the year 1848 the preachers Dilman Moyer and Jacob 
Gross decided to open a Sunday School in one of the congre- 
gations in Lincoln. They decided so without first obtaining 
the consent of Daniel Hoch (High), who, however, had no 
objections to offer against it. Everything seemed to move 
along smoothly for a time until Satan discovered a means in 


the Sunday School to ane! his kingdom, and he therefore 
concluded to destroy it . 


Evidently this school was in running order for a time; how long 
Eby does not say. He does go on giving account of the work and 
purpose of the school and the division which resulted in the Churches 
in Ontario, the Sunday School being one of the causes. 

Relative to the first permanent Sunday School in the Old Con- 
ference, Bishop David Plank, Logan County, Ohio, in a document 
written in 1898 on the subject of “Origin and Growth of Our Sun- 
day School”, says: t+ 


“T have here a few words of Sunday School history taken 
from a memorandum book in my possession which I value 
very highly. It reads as follows: Logan County, Ohio, 
May 3lst, 1863. Jacob C. Kenagy and David Plank, ministers 
of the Amish Mennonite Church in this locality have decided 
by council of the Church to organize a Sunday School in 
the name of God the Father. We are confident that with the 
cooperation of the fathers and mothers much good will result 
from this new departure..... But this first Amish Men- 
nonite Sunday School had no secretary. ...I realize now 
for the want of this officer much historical and statistical mat- 
ter pertaining to the Sunday School in its infancy is lost. 

A year ago (1897) when I was in Pennsylvania, sister Zook, 
wife of J. R. Zook showed me a beautiful certificate of mem- 


* Note. Following are the exact words of Eby: “Im Jahr 1848 be- 
schlossen die Prediger Jacob Grosz und Dilman Moyer eine Sonntagschule 
in einer der Gemeinden in Lincoln zu erdffnen. Dies geschah, ohne den 
Prediger Daniel Hoch, der aber nichts dagegen einzuwenden hatte, um 
seine Beistimmung zu fragen. Alles schien eine Zeitlang gut zu gehen 
bis der Satanas in der Sonntagschule ein Mittel zur ZerstOrung seines 
Reiches entdeckte, und sich deszhalb entschlosz, sie zu zerstoren.” 


7+ Plank’s original document in my private library. 


The Sunday School 77 


bership of our Sunday School of 1864. It was endorsed by 
David M. Yoder, Superintendent, and David Plank assistant 
.... This first Sunday School differed from our present 
school in two things at least. Ist., In less than one month 
from starting we had a library. . . . We started with eighty- 
nine books at a cost of $16.70. More were added as we went 
on. The expenses for the first year were $20.13; for the sec- 


ond year, $12.19. 2nd, We had no drones or idlers. ... We 
had no penny collections, but we got the money when we 
needed it..... * 


Plank then proceeds to give the names of twelve persons who 
gave each $1.00; the five persons who gave 50c each; then fourteen 
names of persons who gave 25c each. He tells of the opposition to 
the Sunday School, the difficulties which arose, and the final victory 
for the school. This Sunday School Plank claims was the first in the 
Old Conference with a continued existence and it is altogether likely 
that he is right, in so far at least, as documentary evidence is avail- 
able. 


4. Sunday Schools Allowed in Indiana. In 1871 the Indiana 
Mennonite Conference (District) passed the following resolution: 
“Resolved, that Sunday Schools are considered good and shall be 
allowed when they are conducted in Christian order, and the New 
Testament shall be used.”* In the same district conference of 1873 
the following decision was made: “If Sunday Schools are main- 
tained according to the rules and customs of our Church it was 
thought that no objection could be raised.’’+ In Indiana, as in prac- 
tically every other State, Sunday Schools were strongly opposed. 
But when it became evident that Sunday Schools were not only com- 
ing but were actually there, then the Conference “allowed” them, but 
gave very little encouragement. 


Concerning the place and date of the first Sunday School in In- 
diana among the Mennonites we are again on uncertain grounds. 
Bishop Jonathan Kurtz writes that the first School was organized in 
the Maple Grove Meeting-house, near Topeka, with George Boller 
as superintendent.t Kurtz does not know the date. According to 


* Indiana Conference Minutes—1871 
+ Ibid. 1873, pp. 35 and 156. 
+ Kurtz—Personal Letter—Nov, 11th, 1923 


78 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


J. F. Funk, in an article written in 1918,7 the first Sunday School in 
Indiana was organized at the Yellowcreek Church near Goshen some- 
time between 1867 and 1869, with William Holdeman as superin- 
tendent. This school was conducted at first in the German language 
and continued only from spring until fall, closing for the winter 
months. About the same time, says Funk, a Sunday School was or- 
ganized under his direction at the “Shaum’”’ Church, now the Olive 
Church, south and west of Elkhart. Neither of these schools were 
approved by Conference, simply tolerated. 

It really took twenty years to get the Sunday School started in 
Indiana. All the teachers had to be made. Practically all of the 
Bishops were against the School. Funk, with a few others like John 
S. Coffman encouraged it. The case of the Sunday School was the 
same as that of every worthy enterprise in the Old Church, certain 
men with conviction moved fearlessly ahead regardless of opposition 
until finally the Bishops with Conference approved. It is a peculiar 
thing, yet true, that few movements, if any, which meant progress 
and aggressive action were ever started among the Bishops, but rather 
among the laymen. 


5. In Ohio. Evidently the first Sunday School in Ohio was the 
one mentioned above in connection with Bishop David Plank. The 
organization of the first Sunday School in Allen County, Ohio is 
given in the words of an eye-witness :* 


“On Sunday the 16th, (August, 1868), according to pre- 
vious appointment, we met at the Mennonite Meeting- house 
at this place (near Lima), for the purpose of organizing a 
German Sunday School. The meeting was well attended by 
both old and young, and all manifested a great deal of interest 
in the school. Many of the young people seemed very anxious 
to obtain a more perfect knowledge of the German language. 

. After singing several hymns, prayer and a short ad- 
dress, in which the object, importance and necessity of a Sun- 
day School, not only for the purpose of instructing the chil- 
dren in the language, but more especially for the purpose of 
instructing them in the truths of the Bible, and pointing them. 
to Jesus, the Savior of mankind, were set forth, the school 
was organized into classes, and a teacher appointed for each 
class. Half an hour was given to the lesson, during which 


7 Article—In Funk private library. 
* Herald of Truth—Sept., 1868 


The Sunday School 79 


each teacher gave such instruction to his or her class as ap- 
peared appropriate and necessary. After the lesson was ended 
the school was closed by prayer and singing... .” 


In 1869 there was a Sunday School near Bluffton, evidently in 
the Zion congregation. The reporter says that the children spell and 
read the German language, and that they were also asked questions 
on Scripture.* Record is also made that the brethren in Mahoning 
County, Ohio, in 1874 had organized a Sunday School.+ In October 
of the same year it was reported that the school was well attended 
with one hundred and fifty pupils with great interest. 

In the January (1875) issue of the Herald of Truth appears an 
account of a Sunday School in Logan County, Ohio. The report 
reads: 


“The Sunday School was commenced in the Spring (evi- 
dently 1874), under the blessing of God, and conducted by 
Joseph Hartzler as superintendent, and Christian K. Yoder 
as assistant, and Levy King as secretary. The number of 
scholars range from sixty-five to ninety-five. Good order 
prevailed throughout and 4,773 verses were committed to 
memory during the season of the school, and between $15.00 
and $20.00 were contributed to its support by the scholars. 
Nine Bibles were obtained by different scholars, besides a 
number of Testaments and other books.” 


In the July, 1875, issue of the Herald of Truth appears a note 
on a Sunday School in Holmes County, Ohio. “A Sunday School 
was organized recently by the Walnutcreek Church . . . which was 
attended by a great number of children, likewise by brothers and sis- 
ters of maturer age.” There likely were other schools organized in 
other parts of the State about this same time if records were avail- 
able. 

6. In Virginia. In an historical sketch of the Bank Church, 
Rockingham County, Virginia, Jacob A. Heatwole says :* 


“Tn the year 1870 the house was enlarged about athird. . . 
The same year a Sunday School was organized and success- 
fully conducted for two years. An English library consisting 
of premiums for the children, booklets and stories suitable for 
the young, and Testaments, were purchased, forty-two copies 


* Herald of Truth—September, 1869 

+ Ibid. July, 1874 

+ Ibid. October, 1874 

* Mennonite Year Book and Directory—1907, p. 28 


S0) Education Among the Mennonites of America 


of which still remain (1907). The opposition to Sunday 
Schools in a few years became so great that the work was 
dropped. Eleven years passed before another effort was made 
to take up the important work. This time (1882) the library 
was improved by purchasing a number of question books and 
New Testaments. .... sf 


Much credit is also given to Dr. G. W. McFarlan and A. G. 
Simmers in keeping the new institution alive. McFarlan came from 
the Methodist Church uniting with the Mennonite, and Simmers from 
the Dunkard. 


An uncertainty arises again concerning the place of the first Sun- 
day School in Virginia. In reply to a questionnaire (1923) Bishop 
L. J. Heatwole says that the first Sunday School in their State was 
organized in the spring of 1870 at the Weaver’s Church, Rocking- 
ham County, near Harrisonburg, with Emanuel Suter as superin- 
tendent and associated with him were Peter Blosser, D. A. Heatwole, 
and Bishop Samuel Coffman. Heatwole reports further (1923) that 
there are twenty-one Mennonite Sunday Schools in the State, 90% 
being rural and 10% in the city. There is an enrollment of 1,425, 
75% being children and 25% adults. Both uniform and graded les- 
sons are used, and the English language only. 


7. In Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is the cradle of American 
Mennonitism. Pennsylvania is conservative and the West has more 
or less lost caste because of its progressiveness. Sunday Schools be- 
gan later in Pennsylvania than in Indiana and Ohio. The eastern 
Bishops were opposed and ruled against the coming of the Sunday 
School, largely on the grounds that they had no books only such as 
were gotten from the outside and this was condemned. It was at this 
time that Amos Herr, a good and active speaker, wrote to J. F. Funk 
asking for assistance in getting books for the Sunday School. Herr 
and Funk then secured Bishop J. N. Brubaker, after which Brubaker 
and Funk, staying with Herr for one week, got out three books, very 
small certainly, for Sunday School use. 


The first of these books was a primary question book for young 
classes up to ten years of age. The second was for intermediate 
classes from ten to twelve years of age. It was a question book on 
the New Testament in English and German. The third book was a 


The Sunday School §1 


Bible class question book on the entire Bible, English and German. 
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania began the use of these books and 
the Sunday School made quite rapid progress, these books being used 
until the coming of the Lesson Quarterlies about 1890. H. B. Bren- 
neman, Elkhart, Indiana was the first editor of the Mennonite Sun- 
day School Lesson Quarterly, with John S. Coffman second.* 
In the July (1874) issue of the Herald of Truth appears the 
following : 
“The brethren in the Franconia Church, in Montgomery 
County, Pennsylvania have organized a German School which 
meets every Saturday afternoon, in the Meeting-house and is 
conducted much the same as a Sunday School. The ministers, 
laymen, and children meet together to read, sing and pray. 
A similar school was conducted at Bergy’s school house in 
the same township, but on Sunday afternoon.” 


A further note appears in the Herald of Truth in the July, 1875, 


issue: 


“The brethren .... have again opened their school. The 
school has been maintained for several summers and is held 
on Saturday afternoon, though it is conducted in the same 
manner as a Sunday School. The attendance is very large. 
..+. The aged minister, Henry Nice, assists in conducting 


Steen There are others of our Church in Montgomery 
County who entertain the idea of organizing similar 
Schools cen. 


In the July, 1877, issue of the Herald of Truth appears a note 
concerning the Sunday School in Bucks County, the following being 
a summary: Inthe Gehman Church some felt the need of a Sunday 
School. They put the question before the Church whether or no they 
may organize. The congregation voted favorable. They then pro- 
ceeded to organize a German Sunday School on April 22d, 1877. 
Between seventy-five and eighty children and young people were 
present and active. The school was conducted under the care of the 
Church and held on Sunday afternoon, being conducted in much the 
same way as at other places. Two ministers and a layman were ap- 
pointed to conduct the work, with four others to assist. The young 
people were given instruction in the German language. The school 
soon reached over one hundred in attendance. 


* Funk—In Personal Interview. 


82 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Evidently many other parts of the State organized Sunday 
Schools at about the same time and in much the same way. The 
available evidence permits one to believe that when the movement was 
once started that it spread quite rapidly. 

8. In Illinois. Weber presents the following findings :* 


“About this time (1882), perhaps a year earlier, the Sun- 
day School was started. Several women, Mrs. Jacob Reitzel, 
Mrs. Abraham Ebersole, and Mrs. Jacob Ebersole, advocated 
and urged it. E. M. Shellenberger from Freeport where a 
Sunday School had been started a few years before was in- 
vited to come and organize one at Sterling. Since there was 
so much opposition it had to be started outside of the Church. 
The School was conducted in the East Science Ridge school- 
house, then newly built for somewhat over a year. The first 


superintendent was Phillip Nice. ... At first it was held eve- 
ry Sunday afternoon until it was tolerated in the Church 
Houseges 00 i 


Evidently, however, the Sterling Sunday School was not the first 
in the State. J. F. Funk made a visit in October or November, 1867 
to the Church near Washington, Illinois (likely now the Union 
Church), and reported as follows: ‘There was a Sunday School or- 
ganized there during the summer and a session was held at 9:00 A.M. 
on Sunday ; that the School was closed on November 25th, because of 
the winter and the members living so far away. He states that the 
purpose of the School was to instruct the children and youth in the 
truths of the Bible, in their duties toward God and men, and to lead 
them in wisdoms ways.+ In a personal letter from Funk dated Jan- 
uary 25th, 1924, he confirms the report. It is evidently true that fol- 
lowing the year 1867 Sunday Schools developed more or less grad- 
ually in all of the Mennonite communities in the State. 


At the present time there are sixteen Sunday Schools in the 
State, about 8714% rural and the rest city. The international uni- 
form lessons are used with the exception of one school where the be- 
ginners, the primaries and juniors use the graded lessons. There are 
still a few German classes in some sections. 


* Weber-—History of American Mennonites in Illinois—p. 47f. ~ 
+ Funk—Herald of Truth—Jan., 1867 
+ Eash—Questionnaire Report—1923 


The Sunday School 83 
ORGANIZATION AND METHODS 


The organization was usually very simple, with perhaps a super- 
intendent, assistant superintendent, sometimes a secretary and treas- 
urer. 

1. Method of Conducting. Practically the same method of con- 
ducting the School prevailed throughout the denomination. The 
School in Allen County, Ohio gives us a very good example of the 
way in which the average School was conducted. They report as 


follows :* 


“First, we sing, generally such hymns as are appropriate 
for children and youth. Then we read a chapter, or part of a 


chapter, from the Bible... generally some suitable remarks 
are made. . . . Then prayer is offered. After this the school 
is divided into classes. . The little boys and girls have the 


small Primers,} the larger scholars have the larger Primers or 
the spelling books. Others that can read pretty well also use 
the New Testament. The teachers are brethren for the male, 
and mostly sisters for female classes. ... Half or three quar- 
ters of an hour, and sometimes perhaps more, is spent with 
the lesson. . . . We endeavor to instruct the children in such 
a manner as their young minds may be able to understand. 
Sometimes also a short exhortation is given to them. Then 
we pray and sing again and close the school. The leaders of 
the school have thus far been one of the ministers or deacons. 
Sometimes they are all there and help one another.” 


Following this report from Allen County, Ohio School, Funk 
proceeds to give in a bit more detail the order which seems advisable 
to him, and an order which since came to be quite pean used. 
He advises the following : 


“At the opening, if there be time, three or four short 
hymns or parts of hymns may be sung. . . . Then a short por- 
tion of Scripture should be read. . . . This selection of Scrip- 
ture should be one that is appropriate and adapted to the un- 
derstanding of the children. Then a short and appropriate 
prayer, in words that children can understand, should be of- 
fered, and a verse or two of familiar hymn sung after prayer. 


* Brenneman—Herald of Truth—January, 1869 


+ Note. The “Primers” were primary books on the German language. 
One of the things which permitted the Sunday School to come in at all in 
many sections of the Church was the fact that the children were fast leav- 
ing the German in favor of the English language. Many people approved 
of the Sunday School, not because of the religious truths their children 
were learning, but because they were learning the German language. 


bf Education Among the Mennonites of America 


After this the teachers should take their classes, and the per- 
son whose duty it is, should distribute the books to those who 
need them, while the superintendent looks around to see if 
any new scholars have come in, wno have not yet been placed 
into classes, or if any classes are without a teacher, and ar- 
range all things in proper order. The superintendent should 
not try to teach a class himself.... The teacher should 
spend in the instruction of their classes from 30 to 40 minutes, 
and each teacher should endeavor to give such instruction as 
he or she thinks the class needs and can comprehend. When 
the time devoted to the lesson has expired, the superintendent 
should advise the school, and other exercises may be intro- 
duced. He may ask questions on the lesson, or on other parts 
of Scripture. ... After this a short prayer should be offered, 
another hymn sung, and the school dismissed.’’* 


This full account of how the early Schools were conducted has 
been given because of the fact that upon this method practically all of 
the Sunday Schools were conducted, and fairly represents the average 
School at the present time, with the exception, however, that the 
Primers are no longer used and the text of the Bible constitutes the 
lesson material. 


2. Literature. Before and during the early days of the Sunday 
School the editor of the Herald of Truth (Funk) made continuous 
reprints of Mennonite Catechisms for the benefit and instruction of 
those persons, young persons in particular, who were preparing to 
come into the Church. The instruction covered the main points of 
doctrine as interpreted by the Church. 


A German spelling book was also compiled by Benjamin Eby, in 
1824, in Ontario, Canada. This book was printed by Funk in Elk- 
hart about June, 1869. The book was adapted to school and private 
use in the study of German, and was frequently used in Sunday 
Schools. The speller was a strictly Mennonite book in origin and 
publication. The book was reprinted in 1909 and is still in use by 
some of the smaller and more conservative sects. 


In 1869 Funk republished a small German Catechism which was 
originally published by the Mennonite Church in Germany, and re- 
published by Canadian Mennonites (Ontario) in 1824. The book 


* Herald of Truth—April, 1870 
7 Ibid. June, 1869 


The Sunday School 85 


was especially adapted to the use of children in day and Sabbath 
Schools, and where the German school was maintained. 

As noted above in 1873 a series of Sunday School lessons ap- 
peared in the Herald of Truth. The lessons consisted of Scripture 
passages, followed by references and explanations. The lessons were 
arranged for use during the Sunday School hour, with a list of ques- 
tions following each lesson. Following this came the international 
uniform lessons printed in lesson quarterlies and are today used quite 
universally among the Mennonites of America. In the Old Church 
the graded system is used in some places in the beginner, primary and 
junior departments. 


3. The Teacher. From the first Mennonites have always de- 
manded high moral and spiritual qualifications of their teachers. Not 
a great emphasis was placed on the educational qualification, but great 
emphasis on the religious and ethical. In the early days of the Sun- 
day School the following standards and ideals were upheld for the 
teacher : 


(1) He must be a true Christian. (2) He must love the 
souls of men. (3) He must allow nothing of a trivial char- 
acter to disrupt his attendance. (4) He must be at his place 
in the Sunday School in good time. (5) He must take great 
pains in the preparation of his lesson before hand. (6) He 
must be a man or woman of prayer, a seeker for spiritual and 
divine light. (7) He will cultivate a personal concern for 
every pupil individually for their salvation and pray for each 
daily and by name. (8) He will instruct his class in the duties 
of the Christian life as well as in the doctrines of salvation. 
(9) He will uphold Christ alone as the Savior of mankind. 
(10) He must not be discouraged if fruit of his labor does not 
early appear.* 


4. Status in 1870. A fair review of the Sunday School situa- 
tion as it had developed until 1870 was given by Funk during that 
year. Among other things he says that “Most of our Conferences 
(District Conferences) have given their consent to holding Sabbath 
Schools, on condition that they are held in accordance with the rules 
of the Church; .... At least we find that they . . . are holding 
them in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Canada and 
other places. The bishops and ministers should carefully look after 


* Herald of Truth—October, 1870 


86 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


these schools, and see to it that they are conducted as they should 
Delores sons Sy 

The aim and purpose of the Sunday School by this time had also 
gone through a process of evolution, bringing it more nearly to what 
it should be. By this time it was evident that the aim was not so much 
to teach children to read, or to learn a language, but to teach them the 
lessons of truth concerning the Bible; to instruct them in their duty 
toward God and their fellowman; to lead them early to love God and 
to keep his commandments, and thus prepare them to grow up to be 
good and useful members of the Church of Christ. Funk also urges 
that the superintendent should be a man “apt to teach”, a man who 
loves children; a man who is serious, and who will attend regularly. 
It is not necessary always to elect a minister, in fact a good layman 
is preferred. Classes were to be organized and constituted on the 
basis of their requirements. Instruction and classification were to be 
governed by the intellectual and scholastic attainments of the pupils. 

5. Apologies. The opposition to Sunday Schools which con- 
tinued more or less until 1870, or perhaps later was based on very in- 
adequate foundation. It was urged that the Sunday School would 
bring into the Church pride, corruption, worldliness, etc. The Sun- 
day School was something “new” and should not be admitted. But 
thoughtful men contended that the Sunday School should not be re- 
jected because it was something new, but that it should be accepted, 
whether new or old, on the basis of whether or not it was doing good, 
and good it was certainly doing, they said. 

It is interesting to note some of the arguments presented in 
favor of the Sunday School by some of the men who were Sunday 
School enthusiasts. J. M. Brenneman in 1869 presented his argu- 
ment why a Sunday School should be organized in Allen County, Ohio. 
He says: First: Because we ourselves are German, and do not have 
other German schools, and we think that we should not allow the 
noble German language to pass entirely away from among us; for if 
our children can not read German, who will read our German books, 
when once we have passed away from the earth? Second: We should 


: Herald of Truth—April, 1870 


bid. 


The Sunday School 87 


have Sunday School not only to teach our children German, but 
chiefly that we might teach them religious truth. German is still, he 
says, the daily language of the Mennonite people and they desire to 
give their children biblical education in their daily language. The 
principles of human knowledge (“‘worldly wisdom’) are taught in 
public schools and in the English language. Besides, he says, it is 
good to be able to use both the English and the German language.* 


Another argument frequently presented in favor of the Sunday 
School was that in sections where Sunday Schools were held children 
were more serious and better behaved and more attentive in the 
Church service than in communities where there were no Sunday 
Schools. 


Funk also puts in his characteristic broadside in favor of the 
Sunday School in the following characteristic words: “A Sunday 
School, when properly conducted, is of untold value to both children 
and parents. Those who are still inclined to find fault with such a 
matter should consider well whether they are not contending against 
God and His holy will. Oh, beloved brethren, consider the matter well 
whether it should not be highly necessary for our Church everywhere 
to establish Sunday Schools, so that the children may not grow up in 
ignorance and remain unacquainted with God and his commandments. 
It is truly astonishing how little our young people generally know 
about this matter; therefore we should make every effort to instruct 
them and bring them to Jesus.”’* 


It was not an uncommon sight in early days to see parents and 
children proceed to the meeting-house together, the children going in 
for Sunday School, while most of the parents were visiting outside of 
the house and having a social time. After the Sunday School was 
dismissed the parents and older people would gather in for the ser- 
mon. ‘This could be accounted for from the fact that the Sunday 
School was looked upon by many people as being for the children 
only, and on the further fact that almost 100% of the early Churches 
were in rural districts, and without our modern means of travel and 


* Herald of Truth—January, 1869 


58 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


communication, Sunday was about the only time that the people were 
able to see each other and to engage in anything like social activities. 


In as much as the Central Conference grew out of the Old Con- 
ference it should be noted that their first Sunday School was or- 
ganized at the North Danvers Church about 1869 or ’70. The other 
congregations of the Conference began Sunday School as they were 
organized. The first literature used in Sunday School was the Bible 
for adults, and for the children the German Primer, designed to 
teach the German language, was used. When the Lesson Leaves 
published by John F. Funk, mentioned above, came out the Central 
Churches immediately began the use of them. English classes were 
introduced about 1880, the last German class being discontinued 
about 1915. Graded lessons have been in use at some places for 
about fifteen years. The first Sunday School Conference was held 
about 1898. There are no week-day religious schools nor vacation 
Bible Schools. The first Bible Normal was held at Carlock, Illinois, 
January 11 to 18, 1925. The first Christian Workers Conference 
was held at the Normal Church in 1917 and has been an annual affair 
since.* 

In conclusion it should be noted that in 1919, in the Old Con- 
ference, there were reported to the General Sunday School Commit- 
tee, two hundred and twenty-five Sunday Schools in the United States 
and Canada. These two hundred and twenty-five schools have an 
enrollment of about 29,000, with an average attendance of 20,700. 
There are over 1,000 officers and more than 2,500 teachers. 205 
schools met every Sunday. The expenditures for supplies of 138 
schools amounted to $7,039.90. Forty-two schools have teachers’ 
meetings, and nineteen have teachers’ training classes. 120 schools 
distribute the ‘““Words of Cheer’, and 95 use the “Beams of Light”’. 
22 use periodicals outside of our own publications. 123 schools re- 
ceived missionary offerings. 80 used and encouraged children’s in- 
vestment funds. 40 schools observed General Missionary Day; 98 
schools reported their missionary offerings, making a total of $12,- 
201.06. Only 25 mission schools are reported, and of these only 


* Weber—The Mennon'tes in Illinois. 


The Sunday School 89 


eleven had been organized since 1910. During the year 1918 606 
pupils were reported received into the Church.* 

It should be noted in closing that the last ten and fifteen years 
have brought notable changes. The Sunday School in the Old Church 
is not today what it was even twenty-five years ago. Back from our 
colleges have gone young men and women of training, teaching abili- 
ty, vision and foresight, all of which have brought favorable and most 
desired improvements. 


* Mennonite Year Book and Directory—1919, p, 171. 


CHAPTERGV IT 


THE SUNDAY SCHOOL 


(General Conference) 


The “General Conference of Mennonites of North America’ is 
not exactly a separate branch of the denomination, but rather a unifi- 
cation movement aiming at the union of all the Mennonites of Ameri- 
ca. Because of certain progressive views on certain phases of Church 
polity, religious education, and evangelism, John H. Oberholtz- 
er. with others, were expelled from the local church in Eastern 
Pennsylvania in 1847. The expelled group immediately organized, 
began the publication of a paper—the ‘‘Religidser Botschafter”, the 
first Mennonite Church paper printed in America. When this group 
saw that there was no hope of reconciliation with the Old Church 
they proceeded to organize a Conference the aim of which was to 
effect a union of the scattered congregations and eventually unite all 
branches of American Mennonites. 

The results of the movement thus far have been very gratifying. 
The first Conference was held near West Point, Iowa, in 1860. It 
was at the 1861 session at Wadsworth, Ohio, that forces were set in 
motion which resulted in the building of the Wadsworth School noted 
later. The Conference today has a constituency of more than 20,000 
members.* 


INTRODUCTION OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS 


In view of the chief causes and aims giving rise to this Confer- 
ence it is only to be expected that aggressive activities, religious edu- 
cation, the Sunday School, and other agencies would be given favor- 
able place and consideration from the beginning. 

1. The Forerunner. It was probably in the year 1847 that John 
H. Oberholtzer introduced into the Churches in his charge (The 
Swamp Churches), near Quakertown, Pennsylvania, what he called 


* Smith—The Mennonites—p. 271f. 


The Sunday School HL 


“Kinderlehre Meetings”. It was his purpose to educate the children 
in a thorough knowledge of the Bible leading them to active mem- 
bership in the Church. The meetings were held every alternate Sun- 
day afternoon and were fairly well attended by the young people, 
and in some cases, by the older people. This was one of the first en- 
deavors leading directly to the organized Sunday School among the 
Mennonites of America. These Kinderlehre Meetings were con- 
tinued for a number of years. The program of instruction consisted 
largely of prayer, the singing of hymns, reciting and explanation of 
answers to the catechism. 

2. The First Sunday School. .During the summer of 1848 a 
Sunday School was organized in Bertolette’s Mennonite Meeting- 
house, in Frederick, Pennsylvania, with George S. Nice as superin- 
tendent. But as Nice was not a Mennonite, as well as others respon- 
sible for the control of the school, this school, though held in a Men- 
nonite Church, can not be classed strictly with Mennonite Sunday 
Schools. At any rate the school ceased to exist after running a short 
time.* 

The oldest Sunday School in the General Conference, and likely 
the oldest in America with a continued existence, is the one at West 
Swamp, Pennsylvania. This school was organized on April 10th, 
1857 under the pastorate of John H. Oberholtzer, with A. B. Shelly 
as superintendent. On April 10th, 1907, the 50th anniversary of 
this school was observed. In 1908 thirteen of the original officers 
and teachers of this school, and 45 of the original 78 pupils of the 
school, were still living. Following the organization of the West 
Swamp School it was but a short time when all the congregations 
comprising the Eastern District Conference had their Sunday 
Schools.+ 

3. The Mennonite. “The Mennonite” was at first a religious 
monthly journal published by a committee of ministers, the first issue 
appearing in October, 1885. By this time the Sunday School move- 
ment had gotten a good start in the General Conference. In the first 


* Mennonite Year Book and Almanac—1908, p, 26 


+ Ibid. 1919, p, 34 
Krehbiel—Hist. of the Mennonite Gen’l. Conf. p. 423 


92 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


issue of this paper, however, appears a column on the Sabbath School. 
The international lessons also appeared in its columns regularly. In 
the first issue it was urged that “The Sabbath School is a part of the 
congregation and should never be considered as a separate institu- 
tion.” 

4. The Sunday School Teacher. In the second issue of The 
Mennonite, November, 1885, is given the Sunday School Teacher’s 
Ten Commandments, which give a very good idea of what was ex- 
pected of a teacher at that time. They are as follows: 


“(1) Pray continually to God for understanding, advice 
and patience. (2) Hold fast to thy convictions, and continue 
therein in faith. (3) Love and respect thy scholars. (4) Con- 
sider well thy plans. (5) Win the attention and love of the 
scholars. (6) Strive to express thy thoughts and convictions 
distinctly. (7) Teach the whole plan of salvation. (8) Never 
forget that a tree is known by its fruit. (9) Frequently prove 
whether thy teaching benefits thy scholars. (10) Hope con- 
tinually for fruit of thy labor.” 


5. Status in 1889. Quite complete reports on the Sunday 
School of the Eastern District Conference frequently appear in 
“The Mennonite”. These reports show that A. M. Fretz, A. B. 
Shelly, I. K. Freed, C. v. d. Smissen, N. B. Grubb, F. R. Rosen- 
berger, W. S. Gottshall, Wm. Gehman, J. Weinberger, P. Kline, 
and J. S. Moyer were among the leading Sunday School spirits. The 
reports also show that until 1889 Sunday Schools were established 
at Germantown, Deep Run, Churchville, Philadelphia, Schwenks- 
ville, East Swamp, West Swamp, Upper Milford, Bowmansville, 
Boyertown, Richland, and other places. In October, 1889 these 
schools reported a total number of teachers, 112; total number of 
scholars, 1,217; amount collected for expenses, $839.15, and for 
missions, $85.36. In these schools the English language was used 
almost entirely, with occasional German. In some places the school 
was divided into departments, according to the age of the pupils. 


MOVEMENTS IN THE CENTRAL STATES 


While it is true that by the middle of the 19th century 
Sunday Schools were organized in practically all of the 
Protestant Churches in the central States, yet the Mennonites had not 


The Sunday School 


v8 


at that time adopted them. However, the development of Religious 
Education in the Middle District Conference (Ohio, Indiana, IIli- 


nois, Missouri and Iowa), is a matter of considerable interest. 


1. The First School. Moyer, in his studies of the district 


says: * 


“From such evidence as could be obtained, it seems quite 
certain that the first Sunday School established in the district 
was organized near Pandora, Ohio, in the Swiss congrega- 
tion..... The school was held in the Beech Tree schoolhouse, 
two miles southeast of Pandora. They (older citizens) also 
agree that it was before the Civil War (probably in 1859.) 
The Sunday School met on Sunday afternoons every two 
weeks from April to September, 1859. There is no evidence 
that it continued for more than one summer. ... The Sun- 
day School had no direct connection with the Swiss Church, 
though the organizers were members of the Church. A few 
years later another Sunday School was begun in a_ school- 
house, a few miles south of the Swiss Church, where the 
Ebenezer Church now stands. In 1865 a Sunday School was 
organized at Summerfield, Illinois; in 1869 at Berne, Indiana; in 
1874, at Pulaski, Iowa; in 1875 at Donnellson, lowa, also at 
Noble, Iowa; and in 1876 at Trenton, Ohio. At Wayland, 
Iowa, they organized about 1900.” 


Moyer has done an excellent piece of work in connection with 


the Middle District, but there may be some question concerning the 
first Sunday School. In a letter from E. Hunsberger, Wadsworth, 
Ohio, to the editor of “Das Christliche Volksblatt’’, dated Decem 


ber, 24th, 1857, is the following: + 


“Our Sunday School we closed sometime ago. It had an 
attendance of 100 children, who during the past summer made 
good progress in learning. Last Fall we started a Bible class, 
which many now regard as a very necessary and profitable 
work. Both young and old now come with Bibles and New 
Testaments in hand. The chief purpose in this Bible class is 
to prepare men and women teachers for teaching the Word of 
God in the Sunday School, and to instruct the Christian bet- 


ter.” 


This information from Hunsberger gives evidence not only of 
a Sunday School at Wadsworth, Ohio, as early as 1857, but also 


that in the same school there was a teachers’ training class. 


2. Organization. The general plan of organization in the 


* Moyer—Relg. Educ. in Mennonite Churches Comprising the Middle 


District Conference—p, 17. 


+ Hunsberger—Das Christliche Volksblatt—Jan. 13th, 1858 


94 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Sunday School at the present time is much the same as that in the 
Old Conference. In every case the superintendent is the chief ex- 
ecutive, and is assisted by others. All the schools have secretaries 
and treasurers; also a librarian, chorister, and pianist. In most of 
the schools there is a committee that has general supervision over 
the school, this committee being called the Educational Committee 
and is generally chosen annually. Departmental superintendents are 
found in about one-half of the schools. Cradle roll departments 
are organized in most schools. In most cases the primaries and 
beginners have their own rooms. 


3. Literature. Definite information relative to literature used 
is not always obtainable. At Berne, Indiana, uniform lessons were 
introduced in 1873; at Donnellson, Iowa, they have been used since 
1875; at Summerfield, Illinois, they were introduced “many years 
ago”. Probably much of the work offered the children was similar 
to that taught in the Parochial schools, especially the use of Bible 
stories. Most, if not all, the Sunday Schools used the German lan- 
guage at first, but today the English predominates. Graded lessons 
are yet more or less of an innovation. At Wayland, Iowa; Bluffton, 
Ohio; Pandora, Ohio; and Pulaski, Iowa, graded lessons are used 
to some extent. * 


4. Teachers Training. In the Salem Sunday School, near 
Dalton, Ohio, a teachers’ training class was conducted by the super- 
intendent about ten years ago (1910), in connection with the regular 
teachers‘ meeting. At Trenton, Ohio, a training class was conduct- 
ed by the pastor during the winter of 1918-19. At Summerfield, 
Illinois, training classes have been organized at intervals for the 
last decade. At Bluffton, Ohio, several classes have graduated since 
1915. At Noble, Iowa, they have usually had a class at work since 
1909. At Berne, Indiana, teachers’ training classes have been known 
for thirty years. Many of the schools in the District have weekly 
teachers’ meetings where the lesson is prepared for the following 


* Moyer—Religious Education in Mennonite Churches Comprising 
the Middle District Conference—p, 18f. 


The Sunday School 95 


Sunday. There are also a number of organized classes in the Dis- 
tricta 7, 


5. Standards. The Middle District has adopted a standard 
for their schools. There are ten points which constitute the stand- 
ard. I. A cradle roll (5%); a working Home Department (5%). 
II. Organized class or classes in the young people’s department 
(5%); organized class or classes in adult department (5%). III. 
A teachers’ training class or student pursuing regular courses in — 
Teachers’ Training (10%). IV. Graded organization in the fol- 
lowing departments: Children’s Division, ages 4 to 12. Young 
People’s Division, ages 13 to 24, Adult Division, ages 25 up, in- 
cluding regular promotions (total 5%); graded instruction (5%). 
V. Regular missionary instruction from platform of class (5%); 
regular missionary offerings (5%). VI. Regular temperance in- 
struction (10%). VII. Definite decision for Christ urged through 
a catechetical class or other methods (10%). VIII. Workers’ Con- 
ference regularly held (10%). IX. A definite written enrollment 
for each scholar (2%); a personal record of attendance for each 
scholar (3%); an average attendance of not less than 70% of the 
total enrollment (5%). X. A yearly report to the Middle District 
Conference (5%); a yearly offering for the Sunday School work 
of the Conference (5%). 


THE WESTERN DISTRICT CONFERENCE 


The Western District Conference includes the States of Kan- 
sas, Oklahoma, and part of Nebraska, with a total membership of 
about 6,000, the majority of whom came from Germany and Rus- 
sia during the recent 70’s. Voth, in his study of this District, pre- 
sents the following findings: * 


When the Mennonites came to Kansas from Europe they knew 
nothing about the Sunday School. The religious education of these 


+ Moyer—Religious Education in Mennonite Churches—p. 20f. 


* Voth—Religious Education in the Mennonite Churches Comprising 
the Western District Conference—p. 43 to 54 


96 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


people had been taken care of by the day schools, all of which had 
offered strong courses in religious education. 


Soon, however, it became evident that something more was 
needful and the Sunday School offered an interesting subject for 
consideration. None of the Mennonites, however, were well dis- 
posed toward imitating their American neighbors in anything what- 
soever. Consequently the introduction of the Sunday School be- 
came a real task in many localities. Like other institutions, the 
Sunday School was introduced into the Church from the outside. 
In fact, in many Churches it existed side by side with the Church 
without receiving recognition or support from the Church. 


Most probably the first School in the District was organized 
on December 26th, 1874 by the Bridertal Congregation near Hills- 
boro, Kansas. The members of this congregation settled near 
Hillsboro in 1873, and for a while worshipped in a school house 
with some American Mennonites (Old Conference) who had pre- 
viously organized a Sunday School at that place. 


The next School to be organized was at Halstead, Kansas, 
December 31st, 1876. The first regular meeting was held on Jan- 
uary 21st, 1877, and was associated with the regular work of the 
Church, evidently because this group came from Iowa and Illinois 
where they had been associated with the Sunday School. Hoff- 
nungsau at Inman, Kansas, and Alexanderwohl, Goessel, Kansas, 
started schools as early as 1877, so also Beatrice, Nebraska, in the 
same year. (Gnadenberg, near Whitewater, Kansas, had a school 
in 1879. 


Voth states further that nearly all the Sunday Schools before 
1880 were held in schoolhouses or private homes, and entirely separ- 
ate from the Church services. Frequently there were more than 
one school in one congregation. In 1880 Hoffnungsau had three, 
and Alexanderwohl, four, each being a distinctly independent or- 
ganization. In such cases the public school district was the unit. 

These early Schools met generally on Sunday afternoon. A 
few met every Sunday, but most of them every second week. For 
a number of years many met only during the summer months and 


The Sunday School 97 


only children took part under the direction of a few devoted adults. 
The parents usually were indifferent, and even opposed the work. 
By 1880 the institution was quite generally recognized as beneficial 
for children, and after this time they gradually became a part of 
the Church work. 

The uniform lessons, says Voth, were introduced quite gener- 
ally from the beginning. In some places the Bible, Bible History 
and the Catechism were used. A few of the schools from the be- 
ginning did not have class divisions, but the majority had divisions 
for the children. Graded lessons at present (1922) are scarcely 
known in the District. Out of twenty-five schools reporting in the 
District, only four used graded lessons. Some schools still use B1- 
ble History and the Catechism. Memory verses are encouraged. 
Pictures are used in practically all the schools. The plan of or- 
ganization is practically the same as that in other Mennonite Con- 
ferences and districts. A number of Schools have libraries. None 
of the Schools have as yet departmental divisions. Aside from di- 
vision into classes there is no graduation. Departmental superin- 

tendents are practically unknown. There are but few Teachers’ 
Training classes, a few places having been started and then 
dropped. 


THE MOUNTAIN LAKE DISTRICT 


Reverend J. J. Balzer, writing (1923) gives a very interesting 
and accurate account of the Sunday School at Mountain Lake, 
Minn. He says: * 


The history of the Sunday School in Minnesota dates 
back to October 4th, 1886, although some Sunday School 
work was being done through summer months in two differ- 
ent farm houses and even in one of the first Churches with a 
class of smaller children. On above named date, two young 
men, Isaac I. Bargen and myself, both teachers of the so-call- 
ed Deutsch-Englische Verein Schule invited the children of the 
town of Mountain Lake into a Sunday School. Fourteen, 12 
girls and 2 boys, responded, and on the following Sunday 
each of these brought another one, and four Sundays later we 
had reached the one hundred mark and continued to grow un- 
til extra seats had to be provided..... Mr. Bargen was acting 


* Balzer—Manuscript is in my private library. 


9§ Education Among the Mennonites of America 


superintendent and myself, vice-superintendent. On the last 
day of May, 1887, we carried out a mission program, and the 
offering amounted to $96.63, which was sent to the Baptist 
mission in India. 

In the fall of 1887 Mr. Bargen took a position in one of 
the High Schools in St. Paul, and I was chosen _ superin- 
tendent..... In the spring of 1888 the Elder of the first or- 
ganized church in this community, Rev. Aaron Wall, invited 
me....to organize a Sunday School in his congregation..... 
Mrs. John P. Rempel was chosen my successor..... We be- 
gan the work with six classes, and the Lord blessed and pros- 
pereid the work greatly..... But on came a storm. Conserv- 
ative old members of the Church objected and openly pro- 
tested. The Sunday School was closed, the Elder resigned, 
the Church was disorganized, and I left again for the old 
home union Sunday School in town, and during the following 
year, on account of the anti-Sunday School movement, three 
divisions took eftect from the one united Church organ- 
ization, the so-called Wall Church, The Bergfeld Church, and 
our dear Bethel Church . . But in spite of the opposition .. . 
all three organizations kept up a Sunday School. The Bethel 
Church built a church and the union Sunday School....united 
with the Church organization. Meanwhile the Mennonite 
Brethren Church was organized, and another Sunday School 
was opened, and after two years....there were nine Sunday 
Schools in operation, of which five are rural and four are in 
the towns of Mountain Lake and Butterfield.... 

Balzer states further that the total enrollment of all the 
Sunday Schools, according to latest report, is about 1,570, of 
which about 60 per cent. are children and 40 per cent. adults. 
The international uniform lessons are generally used, but 
most of the Schools also use the Fifty-two Bible Stories. Dis- 
satisfaction js growing . . with the international methods . 
The graded lesson system is not used. Sunday School papers 
are not given as most people subscribe for them. The prin- 
cipal language is the German, but each Sunday School has 
several classes, where the English is used..... The Schools 
are all in growing condition. I myself was superintendent 
of our school for twenty years. 


Concluding, then, it should be said that the history of the Sun- 
day School in the two Conferences, the Old and the General Con- 
ference, has been dealt with primarily, while many of the, lesser 
Conferences have not been mentioned, because of the fact that what 
is true of the two leading Conferences is true generally of the rest 
relative to dates, organization, methods and ideals. Nearly all of 
the various branches of Mennonites in America have their Sunday 
Schools which are conducted in much the same manner as the two 


The Sunday School 99 


mentioned. In practically all of them Sunday School is held each 
Sunday before the preaching hour and are continued through the 
year. The international uniform lessons are generally used, with 
the graded lessons in some of the more progressive schools. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


OTHER RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 


Besides the Sunday School there are, in practically all of the 
American Mennonite Conferences, other agencies which function 
largely in religious education. Notwithstanding the fact that there 
has always been severe and unjust criticism preferred against the 
introduction of educational movements and agencies into the 
denomination, yet, the past twenty-five years have witnessed great 
progress along educational lines. The following institutions func- 
tion in rather a large way at the present time. 


1. Schools and Colleges. Later chapters give the rise and 
development of Mennonite educational institutions. Sufficient to 
say in this connection that all of the collegiate and academic institu- 
tions give to the Bible and the teaching of religion a very large 
place. All of the colleges give full courses in Bible, and all except 
one, Goshen College, require biblical courses for graduation. Courses 
in Old Testament, New Testament, Biblical Literature and History, 
Christian Ethics, Greek, Christian Doctrine, Comparative Religions, 
Religious Education, Biblical and Systematic Theology, are found 
offered in practically all of the Mennonite Colleges. The same is 
true, in some measure, of the Academies and Bible Schools, such 
as Oklahoma Bible Academy, Mountain Lake Academy, Zoar 
Academy (Inman, Kansas), Goessel Academy, The Gretna (Man- 
itoba) Normal School, The Eastern Mennonite School, and others. 
In recent years since some of the State Universities have begun to 
credit certain Biblical courses, more Biblical courses have been ta- 
ken by the students, with the result that Mennonite Colleges have 
introduced courses and departments of Religious Education, and 
with the final result that these institutions have turned out an un- 
usual number of religious leaders and theological students. 


2. Short Bible Courses. In practically all of the collegiate 
and academic institutions short Bible courses are offered annually, 


Other Religious Educational Agencies 101 


continuing from four to twelve weeks, given generally during the 
winter months. These courses cover very briefly, in a general and 
academic way, much the same ground as is covered in the regular 
courses. They are put on a more popular basis; in many cases a 
popular Bible Lecturer being brought in for one week. These short 
courses are intended for such persons who desire Bible study but 
who have not the time or opportunity to attend during the entire 
year. 


3. Local Bible Schools. Vhere are a number of local com- 
munities in the States and Canada where annual Bible courses are 
offered, the courses running from four to eight weeks. The school 
at Kitchener, Ontario, is perhaps the best organized and conducted 
of any of these schools. This school was instituted by order of the 
Ontario (Old Mennonite) Conference in 1902. In 1903 the first 
work, which was principally doctrinal, was offered. From year to 
year the Conference ordered a continuation of the work largely 
under the direction of Bishop S. F. Coffman, of Vineland, Ontario. 
Coffman is a well qualified man for this type of work and has al- 
ways given to it his best attention. Under his supervision a six 
years’ course has been arranged, the courses being much the same 
as those afforded in the academic institutions.* Similar courses, 
though not so complete and well organized, have been offered in 
schools at Canton, Ohio, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and a few other 
places in western states. It is not at all likely that this type of local 
school will remain permanent for the reason that the class of stu- 
dents who formerly took the work are now attending High School 
and go on to College. 


4. Bible Conferences. About twenty-five years ago the “Bi- 
ble Conference” came into the Old Conference, and was limited 
almost entirely to this Conference. The Indiana District, in 1903, 
passed the following resolution: “That this Conference grant the 
holding of Bible Conferences in the District.” + Such Conferences 


* Hartzler—Education Among the Mennonites of America-Monograph, 
for full outline of courses—p, 483. My library. 


+ Minutes—Indiana Conference, 1903, p. 186, 


102 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


were held in other states, however, before this time, as early as 
1898 or earlier. 

These conferences were local, limited generally to a particular 
congregation. The method of procedure was about as follows: 
Any local Church so desiring might arrange for a Conference. A 
committee was appointed and a program arranged. By vote of the 
congregation instructors, generally two, were selected, men from 
other sections of the Church. The program generally called for 
two studies in the morning, two in the afternoon, with one in the 
evening and an evangelistic sermon following. The subjects for 
study were outlined on chart, placed before the congregation, well 
filled with “proof” texts, which texts were distributed among per- 
sons of the audience for reading at the proper time, the members 
of the audience reading while the instructor attempted to prove his 
doctrine. The subjects most frequently treated were the doctrines 
and customs peculiar to the denomination. The Bethel Congre- 
gation, near Garden City, Missouri, held one such conference in 
January, 1899, while the congregation in Sommerset County, Penn- 
sylvania held one in December of the same year. While these con- 
ferences did a great deal of good in their day, they are at present 
a thing of the past, the popular Bible Lecture Courses fast taking 
their place. 


5. Sunday School Conventions. Evidently the first Sunday 
School Convention among the Mennonites was held by the General 
Conference, a brief report of which is given in 1876. The invita- 
tion to this convention reads as follows: ‘All the friends of the 
Sunday School of our congregations are herewith invited to attend 
a Sunday School Convention to be held in the First Mennonite 
Church, Philadelphia, on Monday, 10 A. M., October 2nd, (1876) 
to discuss points relating to the work of the Sunday School. . . .” * 
This invitation was signed by a number of laymen and a few min- 
isters. This was a new departure and was evidently the first in the 
denomination. Following this, however, the Sunday School Con- 
vention was quite common in the Eastern District Conference. WVa- 


*Mennonitische Friedensbote—September Ist, 1876. 


Other Religious Educational Agencies 103 


rious questions concerning the Sunday School materials to be used, 
methods of teaching, qualification of teachers, were considered. In 
the Western District Conference the Convention came in in 1884. + 


In the Old Conference the first Sunday School Convention was — 
likely held on May 26th, 1890, at the Christian Eby Church, Berlin 
(Kitchener), Ontario, at the call of the Ontario Conference. At 
this convention questions as the following were considered: Is the 
Sunday School evangelical? What means to employ to make the 
Sunday School successful? Duties and responsibilities of teachers. 
Are the Lesson Helps a benefit to the School? On this question 
some fears were expressed. * 

In 1891 a second convention was held in Ontario and the fol- 
lowing questions considered: How organize and conduct Sunday 
School on the non-resistant doctrine? Is it beneficial to hold Teach- 
ers’ Meetings? Bible teaching to infant classes. Singing. Sunday 
School Literature, and how encourage young people in Christian 
work? + 


During the same year (1891) several conventions were held in 
other sections of the Old Church. The Slate Hill Church, Cumber- 
land County, Pennsylvania, held a convention on April 11th. The 
Churchtown Church held a convention on June 6th of the same 
year. At the Slate Hill Convention the following questions arose: 
Should children commit scripture verses to memory? Should re- 
wards of merit be offered? The answer to this question was, No. 
Best methods of teaching primary classes? The recorded answer 
to this question is as follows: “The Sunday School is not the place 
for the children to learn to read.” t¢ 

In the Old Conference, the Sunday School Convention, like 
the Sunday School, was first tolerated, rather than encouraged. On 
May 13th and 14th, 1896, the Ohio Mennonite Church Conference 
passed a resolution allowing Sunday School Conventions on con- 





tWestern District Conference Report—p. 226. 
*Herald of Truth—January, 1891. 

py) dei te be aia June, 1891. 

EY (a DL 2 ESTA Cae 1891, 


104 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


dition: (1) That the Church consent, and (2) That they continue 
not more than two days. * In Indiana the Church Conference, as 
early as 1894 raised the question: “Are the Sunday School Con- 
ferences, conducted by Sunday School workers, with the aid and 
council of the ministry, a benefit to the cause of Christ when they 
are conducted with the same object for the Sunday School as the 
Church Conference is held for the Church?” ‘The answer to this 
question reads as follows: “Sunday School Conference is beneficial 
when conducted in accordance with the conditions mentioned in the 
question, the program for the Sunday School Conference to be 
subject to the approval of the Conference District in which the Con- 
ference is to be held.” + 


The Herald of Truth, during the 90’s, reports numerous con- 
ventions in practically all sections of the Church. Roseland, Ne- 
braska in 1895; at Canton, Kansas, during the same year, also 
Kolona, Iowa, in 1899; the first convention in Illinois at Science 
Ridge Church, near Sterling, on May 20th, 1896; the Amish Men- 
nonite Conference in Illinois in June, 1903. The “Sixth Annual 
Sunday School Union” of Logan and Champaign Counties, Ohio, 
reported for December, 1902. Practically every section of the Old 
Church at the present time holds its annual Convention. 


6. The Christian Endeavor. The Christian Endeavor in the 
General and several other Conferences is quite synonymous with 
the Young People’s Meeting, or Bible Reading, in the Old Con- 
ference; they serve the same purpose. “The first Christian En- 
deavor Society in the Mennonite Church was organized in the Here- 
ford Mennonite Church, January 15, 1887, by Reverend C. H. A. 
van der Smissen, the pastor of the Church. The second society was 
organized in the First Mennonite Church of Philadelphia, with Jo- 
seph B. Bechtel, one of the original members of the Hereford (Penn- 
sylvania) Society as its president, Oct. 18, 1892.’’** Young People’s 


*Ohio Mennonite Conference Minutes—1896. 
+Indiana Mennonite Conference Report—1894. 
* The Mennonite—June 29th, 1922. 


Other Religious Educational Agencies 105 


Meetings had been held before this, but these were the first Endeavor 
Societies and they are both still in operation. 


The General Conference at the present time has its Senior, In- 
termediate and Junior Christian Endeavor. The first Society in the 
Middle District was organized at Summerfield, Illinois, in 1890. This 
was followed by others: Berne, Indiana, 1893; Pulaski, Iowa, 1894; 
Noble, Iowa, about 1895, and the Swiss Church ‘near Bluffton, Ohio, 
about 1895. By 1900 they were quite common. + 


In the Old Conference the Young People’s Meetings were sanc- 
tioned about 1896 or 97. The Annual Conference of Ontario passed, 
on May 28th, 1896, the following resolution: “That edification 
meetings (Generally known as Young People’s Meetings) may be 
held in the meeting-house.”t The Indiana Conference, in 1897, 
raised the question: “Does this Conference sanction Bible-Readings, 
if so, how should they be conducted?” The following answer was 
made: “We recommend that Bible Readings be maintained in all 
the Churches when they can be held with the counsel of the Church 
and the edification of the congregation. . . . That ministers and old- 
er people should attend and assist.’”* 

Practically all of the various branches of the denomination have 
some form of Christian endeavor at present. 


7. Bible Lecture Courses. The Bible Conference method of 
instruction, noted above, ceased almost entirely during the Great 
War. The demand for more definite and scholarly treatment of Gos- 
pel themes has grown acute. It is not a question of a new Gospel, 
but one of an intelligent restatement of old Gospel themes, a state- 
ment which wins and satisfies the High School and College constitu- 
ency. The war raised the question: “What is permanent and worth 
while in our faith?’ It is an honest question and must be honestly 
and intelligently met. Emphasis has shifted from the evangelistic 
to the didactic because men desire to reassure themselves of the 
truthfulness of Christianity. It was this condition that gave rise to 


+Moyer-Relg. Educ. In Middle District, etc—p. 26. 
tHerald of Truth—July, 1896. 
* Indiana Mennonite Conference Report—1897. 


106 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


the Bible Lecture Courses. The great themes of the Kingdom of 
God, the Life and Teaching of Jesus, The Life and Work of Paul, 
the Great Christian Doctrines, Etc. have become popular and have 
proved a great asset to the faith of many. The demand for this line 
of work is greater at present than the supply of lecturers can meet. 
The colleges, Witmarsum Theological Seminary in particular, have 
been drawn on heavily for lecturers. Any local congregation so de- 
siring may call a lecturer to deliver such courses. 


8. Instruction in Catechism. ‘The Mennonites in Europe start- 
ed the use of the catechism in the instruction of their children. The 
General Conference today, which has a large German and Russian 
constituency, still uses the catechism. Each year, in practically all 
the Churches a class is organized for instruction. The young people 
join the class voluntarily, their ages ranging generally from about 
nine to eighteen. Moyer, in speaking of the Middle District Confer- 
ence, says that instruction in the catechism is quite common in the 
Churches. The book which is used was prepared several centuries 
ago and has undergone several editions. The classes continue usually 
about twelve weeks each year. It is a means of preparing the individ- 
ual for membership in the Church. Revival and evangelistic meet- 
ings are scarcely known among the Churches of the Middle District, 
the catechism method being used to win people to the Church. The 
didactic method, based on Matthew 28:19, is emphasized. In most 
cases the minister conducts the class in catechism, the class usually 
beginning after each New Year. Near Easter time the minister gives 
members of the class an opportunity to express their desire for union 
with the Church through baptism. The catechism is arranged in the 
form of questions and answers, the answers being based on verses 
in the Bible. Sometimes the answers are memorized; and sometimes 
the names of the Books of the Bible are memorized.* 


In the Old Mennonite Church, however, the catechism method 
is notsocommon. A small catechism was used for a time in the Sun- 
day School. In the Old Church, until more recent years, children and 
young people were really not expected to unite with the Church until 


*Moyer-Religious Education in the Middle District, etc., p. 14f. 


Other Religious Educational Agencies 107 


later in life. Just before marriage the young man and woman was 
expected to “join the Church”. In more recent years, with the com- 
ing of evangelistic meetings, the young people began to unite with the 
Church upon confession of their faith in Christ. Instruction would 
then be given by the ministers for several months, which instruction 
was then followed by baptism. 

9. Young People’s Conference. Aside from the Christian En- 
deavor Societies noted above, some of which have united with the 
world-wide movement while others remained strictly congregational 
and local, there has developed in the Old Church a new movement 
known as “The Young People’s Conference’. This Conference had 
its origin in France during the days of reconstruction by young Men- 
nonites and Friends. Prominent among the leaders of this move- 
ment were men like Payson Miller, J. C. Meyer, Roy Allgyer, A. J. 
Miller, O. B. Gerig, Ralph Snavely, C. C. Janzen and others. The 
first convention was held at Clermont-en-Argonne, Meuse, France 
on June 20th to 22nd, 1919. After considering some of the partic- 
ular problems of the denomination a constitution was drawn up in 
which was stated the purpose of the movement. The purpose states: * 


“(1) To deepen the spiritual life of the Mennonite Church. 
(2) To study our responsibilities that grow out of our attitude 
toward war. (3) To study the problems of the Mennonite 
Church as regards: (a) Church organization and administra- 
Hons see alts relationiuto. tine) social, orders) (c)acits 
relation to the State; (d) Its obligation to missionary 
endeavor; (e) Christian Education; (f) Relief and reconstruc- 
tion among stricken people. (4) To inspire young men and 
women of the Mennonite Church to consecrate their lives to 
the conservation and extension of the principles of Jesus 
Christ. (5) To encourage the study of the historical develop- 
ment of the Mennonite Church with special emphasis on the 
life of Menno’Simons, (6) To establish a basis for closer coop- 
eration between young people and those of maturer judgment. 
(7) To foster an appreciation and better understanding be- 
tween Mennonites of America and Mennonites of foreign 
- countries......(8) To provide for the discussion of life-work 
problems where interviews with men of experience and train- 
ing in various vocations may be had.” 


This movement has its roots in the well founded conviction that 
the young people, in particular the college constituency, did not have 


*First Report of Young People’s Conference. 


108 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


sufficient opportunity for self-expression, or to devote their lives to 
the larger fields of service, under an efficient and sympathetic leader- 
ship. Experiences during the war convinced the young men that they 
were in need of a religious leadership which they did not have. There 
was a conviction among many that the application of the doctrine of 
non-resistance by the older leadership was little less than a failure. 
There was a decided conviction that if Mennonitism was to survive 
and serve the world in the promotion of the Kingdom of God it must 
be placed upon an intelligent and rational, rather than traditional, 
basis. But this movement, like all other forward movements in the 
Old Church, was met with most severe, unjust and unchristian crit- 
icism and opposition.* What the future of this movement shall ac- 
complish remains for some later historians to note. 


In conclusion it may be said that through all of these agencies, 
existing as they do more or less in all of the various branches of the 
denomination, are seen certain significant tendencies: the tendency 
toward better and stronger educational opportunities ; toward better 
qualified and more efficient leadership; toward a larger and more 
worthy religious program; away from the formal and traditional to 
the vital and intelligent. If these tendencies prevail it will require 
no prophet to predict the future of the denomination. 





*Note: For a more complete treatment of the opposition to the move- 
ment, and the men leading the opposition—see monograph—*“Education 
Among the Mennonites of America”—p. 497. My private library. 


CUA DR ROUX 


THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM* 


When the Mennonites went from Prussia to Russia they went to 
a country where even the rudiments of education were accessible only 
to the favored few. In Russia it was a State offense to do any re- 
ligious work among native citizens where only the established church 
was permitted to operate and then in the Russian language only. Un- 
der these circumstances it was necessary for the Mennonites, if they 
would hold their children for the Church, to keep up their German 
language. For this purpose they obtained permission from the Czar 
to build their own school system, a system which for many years was 
the chief support for their religion. 


No sooner had these people reached America in the 70’s when 
the question arose concerning the organization and promotion of their 
parochial school system in much the same way as they did in Russia. 
The free school system of America did not appeal to them for the 
reason that they saw in it an avenue through which their children 
would pass from the German to the English language and thereby 
cause the whole people to lose religiously. 


While many of the families in Kansas and other western States 
were still living in sod houses, the parochial school was begun, taught 
by men who were teachers in Russia and Germany. To their Ameri- 
can neighbors this seemed strange and even unpatriotic. But when 
it is known that these people who came from Russia, many of them 
at least, believed that the maintenance of their religion depended in a 
large measure on the preservation of the German language, their paro- 
chial schools will be easily understood. Religion and language were 
one and inseparable. 


*Note: I am greatly indebted to President J. W. Kliewer, of 
Bethel College, for the major part of the information contained in this 
chapter. Rev. Kliewer was born in Russia, came to this country, grew up 
on the threshold of the parochial schoo! and is today the best informed 
man on the subject. 


110 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


DEVELOPMENT OF GERMAN SCHOOLS 


The feeling between the Russian and German Mennonite was 
not always cordial. Besides this in a pioneer country like Kansas or 
Nebraska, when the Mennonites settled there, public schools were not 
the most efficient. There was not a little disagreement on numerous - 
points relative to the German schools. But mutual relations in time 
grew better and support for the schools was increased. The public 
schools also won the favor of many who at first had been opposed, 
seeing that conditions in America were not those in Russia. The 
German schools grew gradually in Central Kansas and soon became a 
prominent feature in the educational system of the State. 

The time when the German schools might be held was a difficult 
question in some cases. There was no desire to conflict with the 
English schools. If the German school was to be held in the public 
school building, as it frequently was, then, evidently it could not be 
held at the same time as the English school. In some communities 
special buildings were erected for the German schools and either both 
German and English taught in them, or the children were sent alter- 
nately to parochial school one year and to the English school the next. 
But this method was unsatisfactory. The most satisfactory arrange- 
ment, and for that reason the most predominating, was the one to 
give part of the school year to the German and part to the public 
school. Here too one of two methods was possible; either a teacher 
was hired who could teach both languages, or an English and a Ger- 
man teacher of the same neighborhood exchanged places. In cities 
and towns where the public school was in session nine months in the 
year, the German schools were held during the summer vacation, the 
school being in session only in the forenoon. 

1. The Course of Study. The branches taught varied in num- 
ber and depended on the length of the term. Chief emphasis was put 
on morals and religion, German and singing. Morals were usually 
taught from suitable stories read or told by the teacher. Religious 
instruction included the learning of Bible stories and memorizing 
Scripture passages. An elementary course in Church History was 
offered to advanced classes, and where patrons did not entertain de- 
nominational differences, the catechism was sometimes used. In Ger- 


The Parochial School System 111 


man, reading, writing, grammar, essay writing and declamation were 
the chief exercises. In singing the rudiments of music were taught 
and some of the best known Church hymns. The Geography of 
Germany and Palestine was taught. In schools whose term was so 
long as to preclude attendance of public schools, a full common 
school course was offered. 

2. Financial Support. The moneys necessary for the support 
of these schools were secured in various ways. Very often a teacher 
would open a school upon his own responsibility and charge a speci- 
fied monthly tuition. If such teacher secured a sufficiently large 
number of students, and proved a popular teacher, he fared very well 
financially ; if not then he had to content himself with the good he was 
doing. In other places a board was elected, either by the church or 
by a community of several churches, whose duty it was to make all 
necessary arrangements and provide funds for the school. In some 
cases the Church or community had a standing fund the income of 
which went to the support of the school. 

There was another method in districts where all the voters and 
taxpayers were supporters of the German school. A teacher was 
hired for the English school and paid a salary considerably higher 
than he could ordinarily expect. When his English school closed he 
would teach the German school for very small pay or even for noth- 
ing. But this method received some severe criticism. According to 
the State law, German may be taught in the public schools only as a 
language, but no schools where any language but the English was 
spoken as the recitation language may receive State support. It was 
a question of whether or not the State law was complied with in the 
appropriation of school moneys. The German Teachers’ Association 
voted its disapproval of the method. 

3. Standards. In view of all conditions concerned the stand- 
ards of these schools were very good. Several things contributed 
toward the maintenance of standards of comparative excellence. One 
was the work of the schools which gave the necessary preparation 
for teaching German. Another was the German Teachers’ Society 
which met twice each year; and a third was the German Teachers’ 
Institute which held a two weeks’ session every August. 


sy hy Education Among the Mennonites of America 
A TYPICAL SCHOOL* 


To observe in detail one of the typical parochial schools will give 
one a better comprehension and appreciation of the institution. In 
the Mountain Lake, Minnesota community we have a fair type of 
such school. The school itself can not be well understood without 
first taking into consideration the outstanding characteristics of the 
community. 


1. Characteristics. The larger percent of the people of the 
Mountain Lake community came from Russia to America during the 
years 1870 and 1880. As they came to America they brought with 
them many of their Russian ideals and customs, and these they were 
not anxious to exchange for the ideals and customs of the American 
people. 

In every community in the North and West where Mennonites 
settled during the last fifty years the language question has been 
amongst the foremost problems. The people of the Mountain Lake 
community brought with them from Russia a low-German dialect, a 
combination of German and Dutch. In their religious services they 
generally used and maintained the German; many of them believing 
that the giving up of the German language meant nearly the same as 
giving up their religion. For this reason they urged strenuously that 
the German language be maintained. At the present time the change 
from the German to the English is being made quite rapidly.. 

Going, as the Mennonites did, from Germany to Russia in about 
1788, they were required, because of the condition of the country to 
which they went, to build and maintain their own schools. In Russia 
they finally built up a fairly strong school system after their own 
ideas. Coming to America one hundred years later they naturally felt 
that in order to maintain their identity they must continue their own 
school system. They were firm believers in handing down to their 
children their rich heritage of the past and this heritage involved 


*Note: For information concerning the Mountain Lake community I 
am indebted to several persons living in the community, Mr. Gerhard 
Buhler in particular. Aside from personal observation in the community, 
I have in my private library manuscripts giving detail description of the 
school system. 


The Parochial School System ts 


language, morals and religion, and the best way to accomplish this 
was through the elementary schools. Higher education was at the 
time not encouraged. | 

Until about 1880 few, if any, persons attended institutions of 
higher learning in preparation for the teaching profession or for the 
ministry. Elementary education was thought necessary; but the less 
of higher education the better they thought. Teachers and ministers 
were drawn from the elementary schools. A man with the gift of 
speech, educated or uneducated, who felt it his duty to preach, was 
chosen for that task. Sermons were usually written and laboriously 
read on the Sabbath. Sometimes the sermons of other men were read 
_ with perhaps a few comments. 

This type of preaching and teaching continued for a number of 
years when a few men with religious zeal and deeper spiritual insight 
set about to raise the standards of education, morals and religion in 
the community. Among these men were Rev. Aaron Wall, Rev. J. J. 
Balzer, Rev, fH) Regier, (Rev. HoH.) Voth) |) From) thisi'time) on 
higher education was given a larger place and a more sympathetic 
hearing. Mr. I. J. Bargen and John Remple in 1881 went to Mankato 
Normal School. In 1882 H. H. Regier attended Rochester Theo- 
logical Seminary, New York State. In the same year J. J. Balzer at- 
tended Mt. Pleasant. (Iowa) University. In 1882-84 H. J. Fast 
attended Mankato Normal School, and in 1884-85 Rochester Theo- 
logical Seminary. John Remple attended both Mankato Normal] 
School and Mt. Pleasant University. Out of this group of men who 
pushed ahead on higher education came the leaders of the communi- 
ty for nearly forty years or more. 


2. Rise of the Local Parochial School. Before the establish- 
ment of the permanent school in the Mountain Lake community there 
were a number of schools held in private homes where instruction 
was given to the children of the neighborhood. In a document writ- 
ten by John Remple in 1923 we have the following information con- 
cerning the schools held in private homes: 


John Becker, an experienced teacher from Russia, and 
farmer, opened in his home in 1880 to 1894 on the farm, about 
six miles southeast of Mountain Lake, a German school. In 
spite of his large family he took the children from a distance 


114 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


into his home teaching and boarding them for a very small 
sum of money. The children were given instruction in their 
mother tongue, Biblische Geschichte, Sprachlehre, lessons in 
the Bible, writing, arithmetic, geography, Aufsatz and singing. 

Dietrich Walde, from 1878 to 1885, also an immigrant 
from Russia, and a teacher in Russia, gave instruction in a 
similar way about twelve miles northwest of Mountain Lake. 
Dietrich Peters, an immigrant of 1876, living about twelve 
miles west of Mountain Lake, during the years 1880 and 1896, 
conducted a similar school. 

David Froese, also an ‘mmigrant of 1875, opened his home, 
beginning his school with ten children, about five miles west 
of Mountain Lake, during the years, 1876 to 1879. He board- 
ed the children for very small remuneration. 

I. I. Bargen, also an immigrant, taught a German school 
in Bergthal, north of Butterfield during the years 1878 to 
1880. 

H. H. Regier, 1884 to 1886, taught a similar school in his 
home on the farm, three miles south of town. 

I. I. Bargen, also an immigrant, taught a German school 
six or seven miles west of Mountain Lake and a few years 
later taught a school a bit farther west. 

H. D. Loewen taught a German school nine miles south- 
west of Mountain Lake (1890-1894) and in 1892 a school 
building was erected) at this place. During 1895-’96 David 
Janzen taught here. 

Gerhard Rahn, who was later ordained to the ministry, 
taught a school in his own home from 1889 to 1893, about five 
miles east of Mountain Lake. 

Peter H. Balzer, from 1895 to 1898, taught a school ten 
miles northeast of Mountain Lake. : 

In 1896 there was built in Bergtal, north of Butterfield, a 
German school. For ten years J. A. Becker and David Becker 
taught here. Since that time a number of others have taught 
in the same place. * 


3. The Bruederthal Church School. The numerous schools held 
in private homes, as noted above, while very helpful, yet seemed un- 
satisfactory as a whole. One difficulty was in that they did not reach 
enough children. Besides this most of the teachers were men who 
were at the same time farmers, with little financial backing, men of 
limited educational qualifications, and teaching in many cases became 
something of a side issue. 

Under these circumstances it was not difficult to see the need of 
a better system. Aaron Wall was among the first to see and ex- 
press the need. It was in 1893, when the meeting-house was no long- 


*Rempel—Document by Rempel is in my private library. 


The Parochial School System Me 


er large enough and the need for a new building became evident, that 
Wall urged the use of the old building for a school. Wall also en- 
dowed the school with $1,000.00, the income of which was to go to- 
ward current expenses. 

The aim and purpose of this school was to create interest in re- 
ligion and the Church; to instruct the young in the fundamental doc- 
trines of the Church and the Bible, as well as to teach them the Ger- 
man language. 

The Board of control consisted at first of three persons, but 
later this number was increased to six, the members being elected 
for a period of three years each. The Board was responsible for the 
control of the school, securing teachers and all necessities in the prop- 
er continuation of the school. The school was supposed to be self- 
supporting. But the money received from tuition and board as a rule 
did not meet the demand and the church was required to meet the 
deficit. The support in both students and money was generally good. 

In the course of instruction religion always had a large part; the 
Bible was always given the central place. Bible History (Biblische 
Geschichte) was emphasized. Besides this, German grammar, Ger- 
man language, Arithmetic, Geography, Church History, General His- 
tory, Singing, and some English reading were offered. Most of the 
courses were taught in German at first but later one-half was offered 
in English. 

The teachers of this school, with the possible exception of one, 
A. J. Becker, had nothing more than an elementary training pre- 
paratory for the profession. The leading qualifications were those of 
a good character and a fair knowledge of the Bible. The salaries 
were usually small, not over $60.00 per month, until 1921-’22 when 
Maria Wiebe, the first lady teacher in the school, received $100.00 
per month. 

At the present time this school is closed and it is likely that it 
will never be opened. There are several reasons for this: (1) the 
coming and opportunities of the public school and the payment of 
double school tax. (2) The coming of the High School into the com- 
munity. (3) The German Preparatory school in the same commu- 
nity meets fairly well the Church requirements. And (4), the pre- 


116 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


dominance of the English language. Children growing up in the 
parochial school with little or no English find themselves seriously 
handicapped. There is a demand for English today which the paro- 
chial school does not meet. 

In conclusion it may be noted that what we find in the Mountain 
Lake community by way of history and school development is quite 
the same as that found in many communities in the Dakotas, Nebras- 
ka, Kansas, Oklahoma and other western States, as well as in parts of 
western Canada. To know one community thoroughly means a fair 
knowledge of the rest. In all of these communities there is today a 
strong tendency toward the High School and more or less toward 
collegiate training which means that the parochial school system will 
speedily be replaced by the modern High School which in turn will 
present a strong lead toward the College and the University. 


CHAPTE RIX 


THE GERMAN PREPARATORY SCHOOL 


The essential difference between the Parochial School and the 
German Preparatory School, is not so much in aim and purpose as it 
is in the content of the courses offered and the grade and age of 
pupils. The Preparatory School, in fact, is a parochial school. The 
elementary parochial school compares quite favorably with the ele- 
mentary public school, while the Preparatory School compares more 
nearly with the public High School. 

There are a number of places in the West—Kansas, Nebraska, 
Oklahoma, Minnesota, and the Dakotas, as well as in the Canadian 
Northwest, where the Preparatory School is yet maintained. What 
is true, however, concerning the Parochial Schools is also true con- 
cerning the German Preparatory Schools, namely, that with the com- 
ing of the public schools into these pioneer districts as well as the 
High Schools, and the more complete Americanization of the con- 
stituency it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain these schools. 

Among the more popular Preparatory Schools at the present 
time are those at Mountain Lake, Minnesota, Hillsboro, Kansas, and 
Meno, Oklahoma. Again, in our study, we shall secure a better 
working knowledge of this school system if we take one typical school 
and follow it out in some detail, keeping in mind the fact that what is 
true in one case is quite true in all the rest. Having observed per- 
sonally the three schools above mentioned, the writer prefers to limit 
the present study more or less to the school at Mountain Lake for the 
reason that a more detail study has been made of this one and besides, 
there is more available documentary material on this school.* 


ESTABLISHMENT. OF THE SCHOOL 


1. Conditions Giving Rise to The School. The conditions giv 
ing rise to this school were very similar to those giving rise to the 


*Documents by G. Buhler, J. J. Balzer, I. I. Bargen and others in my 
private library. 


118 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Parochial Schools in Russia. The people having come from Russia 
so recently where they owned and controlled their own schools natur- 
ally led them to desire and attempt the same thing in America. Be- 
sides this the public schools of the community were not very highly 
developed at the time and there was no High School at all. There 
was a strong conviction among the Mennonites that unless they had 
their own schools, in which they could teach whatsoever subjects they 
liked, in particular the German language, they would not be able to 
maintain their language, their traditions and their religious ideals. In 
view of this they set to work to build and control their own schools. 

In 1884 the local district public school in Mountain Lake was 
divided into two departments, the one being taught by J. J. 
Balzer in which German and the Bible were taught. This method 
was continued for two years and with some success. In the spring 
of 1887 Mr. I. I. Bargen, a graduate of Mankato Normal School, or- 
ganized in the community an Educational Society with some thirty 
members. Inthe autumn of the same year the German-English Prep- 
aratory School was opened with seventy pupils ranging from six to 
twenty years of age. After about two years, however, a reactionary 
spirit revealed itself which lowered the interest in the school. At 
the same time Mr. Bargen resigned his position in the community to 
take another position in the St. Paul, Minnesota High School. 

All of this had a deadening effect upon the school movement. 
The Educational Society dissolved, returning its moneys to its mem- 
bers. But the need of a school and the determination to have one 
could not be removed from the minds of some of the leading spirits. 
In spite of opposition and great sacrifice in time and money, 
Balzer continued his teaching efforts. His work prospered and stu- 
dents increased annually, coming as they did from the Dakotas, and 
Nebraska primarily. 

It was in 1896 that Mr. Balzer invited the friends of the school 
to meet in the Bethel Church in town for the purpose of considering 
the future of the school. A goodly number of people responded, and 
after a brief report of the prevailing conditions a School Society was 
again organized, pledging the necessary support in the erection of a 
needed building. Until this time the school had occupied a rented 


The German Preparatory School 119 


store room owned by Peter Goerz. A constitution was drafted by 
the School Society and officers were elected to carry out the project 
of raising funds, erecting proper buildings and continuing the school. 

But three years passed with only hopes of a good building. In 
1900 it was resolved by the Society to begin the building not later 
than June of that year. The farmers of the community agreed to 
haul all of the materials for the building free of charge. But the offi- 
cers of the School Society failed to carry out their plans until ap- 
proached with the question whether they expected to execute the 
plans of the Society, to which they replied that the sum of $5,000.00 
which had been pledged was not sufficient to execute the plan. In 
the fall of 1901, through the efforts of Mr. Balzer and friends of the 
Society, the present German Preparatory School building was erected 
in the town of Mountain Lake. The building was completed in thir- 
ty-six days with $500.00 balance in the treasury. The school was 
opened the same fall with eighty-six students from five different 
states. The school was then incorporated under the laws of the State 
of Minnesota. 

2. The School In Operation. Until the year 1901 the school 
movement in the district was somewhat chaotic. From 1901 on things 
became more permanent through the organization of a permanent 
School Society. On October 26th, 1901, the new Society held its 
first meeting, and on December 6th of the same year the Board met 
for the first time. The Board is composed of nine members, three 
being elected each year to serve for a period of three years. 

The school year was divided into three terms, of ten, seventeen, 
and ten weeks consecutively. The tuition charges were governed by 
the class, or classes, in which a student was registered, and were due 
the Board at the beginning of each term. In the Children’s Class 
(elementary) the tuition charge was $10.00 per year. Class A (Un- 
terklasse) paid $3.00 for the first term, $6.00 for the second, and 
$3.00 for the third term. Class B (Oberklasse) paid $5.00 for the 
first term, $12.00 for the second, and $5.00 for the third term. If 
students came in for only part of the year reductions were made ac- 
cordingly. 

The tuition, however, did not supply sufficient funds to main- 


120 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


tain the school. The School Society, to which each member paid 
$100.00, supported the school. The community also gave fair sup- 
port in both students and finances. 

The aim and purpose of the school was the same as that in other 
sections of the country where such schools were established, namely, 
not only to teach the German language and the Bible, but to prepare 
men and women for Sunday School teaching, preaching and for 
teaching in public schools. The school also offered business courses 
for those who desired to enter the commercial world. Courses in 
English were offered with the view of Americanization. 

3. Courses of Instruction. The “Teaching Plan” for the first 
few years consisted of six departments with practically everything 
given in the German language. (1) The “Unterklasse” course of 
two years; (2) A four years’ course, principally academic; (3) A 
Teachers’ course during the third term of each year for the purpose 
of preparing teachers for the German Parochial Schools. (4) A 
Business course of twelve weeks. (5) Class for children beginning 
to read; and (6) Singing and organ.* 

The teachers of this school deserve a great deal more credit than 
they have ever gotten because of their interest and sacrifice for the 
promotion of the cause. J. J. Balzer, principal and instructor of Re- 
ligion and History, had a thorough academic training in Russia. John. 
Becker, teacher of Literature, Mathematics and Latin, received his 
academic training at Bethel College. D. H. Fast, instructor in the 
children’s classes, was a product of the local institution itself. Miss 
Dienna Risser was instructor in music. These teachers received very 
meager salaries, working for $50.00 per month and less. 


FROM 1909 TO 1923 


1. The Transition. During the summer of 1909 J. J. 
Balzer resigned his position in the school to respond to a call from 
the Mennonite Educational Institute, Altona, Manitoba. At this place 
he served as principal for four years. Some differences concerning 
the school in Mountain Lake arose in the community which encour- 


*Catalogue—1903. 


The German Preparatory School 121 


aged Balzer’s resignation. The doors of the school were then closed 
for one year, and in 1910-11 a primary school, with about sixteen 
children, was conducted by D. H. Fast, a former graduate of the 
school. During the year 1911-12 J. F. Balzer served as principal. 

But this uncertain state of affairs was very unsatisfactory. It 
became evident that Church and School must be brought closer to- 
gether. Accordingly, on December 4th, 1911, the School Society 
held a session at which time it offered its school buildings to the five 
Churches in the town. On March 23d, 1912, the constitution of the 
Society was amended in preparation for the suggested changes. On 
August 24th, 1912, a general meeting was called and with a vote of 
32 to 1 (there being fifty members present) it was decided to dissolve 
the School Society and to organize the institution as a Church school 
in which the five Mennonite Churches in the town should cooperate. 
The old corporation was accordingly dropped and the new formu- 
lated. 

2. The Reorganization. The new Board of Education consist- 
ed of eleven members, two from each of the five Churches, and one 
member at large. On August 30th, 1912, was held the first meeting 
of the Board under the new organization. This Board continues to 
exist at the present time.* The officers of the first year were Henry 
Voth, President; H. I. Dick, Vice-president; D. G. Lohrenz, Secre-- 
tary; and D. C. Hiebert, Treasurer. The personnel of this Board 
remained nearly the same until 1923. 


3. Instructors. During an earlier year, 1908, the following 
persons served as instructors: J. J. Balzer, Principal; J. J. Becker, 
D. H. Fast, and Jacob Schultz. For the year 1914, A. J. Regier 
served as Principal; N. Hiebert, D. H. Fast, and Anna Ewett served 
as teachers. In 1922 Hiebert was still Principal, with H. C. Wiens, 
D. H. Fast, and Elizabeth Schroeder as teachers. It should be noted 
that following A. J. Regier Mr. H. O. Dyck became Principal and 
rendered excellent service. A great deal of credit is due these faith- 
ful men and women for making the school what it was. 


*Note: For a complete list of officers and Board members to 1922 
see my “Education among the Mennonites of America’, Monograph p., 
421. In my private library. 


122 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


4. Courses of Instruction. By this time the course of instruc- 
tion had changed materially since 1903. It is interesting to note the 
courses of instruction offered from 1908 to 1922. 

For the first year: Bible Stories of the New Testament; Read- 
ing; Spelling; Writing; Composition; Arithmetic; Apostolic Bible 
Stories, and Singing. 

For the second year: Bible Stories of the Old Testament; Read- 
ing; Translation, Grammar; Spelling; Composition; Church His- 
tory; Writing; History, and Singing. 

For the third year: Bibelkunde; Literature and Composition ; 
Church History ; World History; Mennonite History; Grammar and 
Composition (English) ; Physiology and Music. 

For the fourth year: Teaching of the Old Testament; Bible 
Customs; Mennonite History; Literature and Composition; Latin 
and Bookkeeping; Rhetoric and Composition (English) ; Pedagogy; 
Physiology ; Practice Teaching and Bible Study. 

The courses offered in 1914 were much the same with perhaps 
Geology added. 

In 1922 the German subjects offered were: Grammar, History, 
Bible Stories, Bibelkunde, Training Class, Composition, Oratory, 
Literature, and Writing. The English courses offered were: Read- 
ing, Writing, Arithmetic, U. S. History, Spelling, Geography, World 
History, Physiography, Elementary Algebra, Grammar, Literature 
and Bible Reading. 

The Training Class (Sunday School Teachers’ Training) was 
begun in 1914 and continues to date, those completing the course re- 
ceive the State certificate. The enrollment of students for 1908, 
reached 96; for 1914, 133; and for 1923, 90. Evidently interest in 
the school has been decreasing since the war, just what one may ex- 
pect in view of the High School and College influence in recent years. 
The 90 pupils attending in 1922-23 were mostly smaller children and 
the instruction was naturally of an elementary nature. 

5. Rules and Regulations. The rules of the institution give 
one a fair notion of the ethical, social and religious ideals of the con- 
stituency. In 1903 seven rules were given to be observed by stu- 
dents: (1) It is expected of each student that he will enroll and pay 


The German Preparatory School yes 


his tuition before attending classes; that he would not leave school 
before the end of the term; and that he will take up all the required 
courses, and not quit any subject without the permission of the teach- 
er or the president of the school. (2) It is required of the students, 
that they will observe study hours very carefully. .... To attend 
the morning devotions regularly, and to attend the class examina- 
tions; and not to go to bed later than ten o’clock and not to get up 
later than six o’clock. (3) Young men and young women are not 
to associate with each other; the same rule also applies when only 
one party isa student. Neither shall both sexes live in the same house 
except in case of permission of the teacher. (4) Sunday shall be 
kept holy, first through regular attendance at a Church of Mountain 
‘Lake in the forenoon, and a Bible study of the institution in the aft- 
ernoon; second, through keeping away from visiting in the streets 
and roads, and attending questionable gatherings or any other ques- 
tionable place. (5) Good behavior shall be observed by avoiding first 
the use of liquor and the visit of any place where it is sold; second, 
the use of tobacco in any of its form; and third, the use of profane 
and impolite talk; fourth, visiting the theatre or circuses; fifth, own- 
ership of a gun; sixth, disorderly and impolite behavior; and seventh, 
the destruction of school property. (6) Observance of good ethics 
is expected of all students, first by keeping clean personally in the 
school-room; second, in good behavior with reference to citizens, 
students and teachers; third, through observing the customs of the 
Christian institution. (7) Order must be kept through avoidance of 
noises within the school building; second, by loud talking during the 
school hour, and third, through marking or scratching building, furni- 
ture or other school property.* 

The rules and regulations for 1914 were much the same with the 
addition of such rules as would naturally effect a more mature stu- 
dent body. From 1903 until 1914 the student body was composed of 
more mature students and the rules and regulation varied accordingly, 
but from religious, moral and ethical standpoint were practically the 
same.t The same is true concerning the rules of 1922. 


*Catalogue—1903. 
TADICieaces ys 1914, 


124 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


6. Student Activities. Athletic activities were little encouraged. 
There were no interscholastics of any kind. There was a Literary 
Society organized under the direction of the teachers. Literary and 
musical programs were regularly rendered, the purpose of which was 
more than mere entertainment. These programs were intended to 
give the student opportunity for self-expression in the development 
of his or her ability before the public. 


7. Present Status. Since the war there has been a decided de- 
crease in both courses offered and students. In view of the develop- 
ing High School in the community, the growing interest in collegiate 
education and more advanced standards, it has been difficult for the 
Board and the teaching force to maintain interest in the local insti- 
tution. The restricted use of the German language also during the 
war had a direct bearing upon the work of the school. 


It is likely that the school will continue some kind of existence 
so long as the generation which immigrated from Russia lives, which 
naturally can not be many more years. It will likely never be any- 
thing more than an elementary school as the younger generation is 
attracted more to the public and the High School. What is true at 
this place is more or less true of all the other schools of this class in 
other western States and Canada. The people who came from Russia 
will likely continue to demand such schools; but the American born 
generation will find a decreasing interest in the institution and an in- 
creasing interest in the High School and the College as well as the 
University. | 


The work and value of these German Preparatory Schools must 
not be discounted. They have served largely and very efficiently in 
various ways. They have brought about a spirit of cooperation among 
the Churches interested. They have preserved the German language. 
They have been an inspiration to many young people to gain an edu- 
cation who otherwise never would have gone to school. It has opened 
the way for many young men and women to enter college and the 
university who today are found holding responsible positions in va- 
rious fields. It has qualified many Sunday School teachers. About 
thirty of the men, products of the Mountain Lake School, have en- 


The German Preparatory School (Aa) 


tered the ministry. Six have gone as missionaries to India; one to 
Africa, and two have entered the China field. 

Before concluding this chapter it should be noted that in Kansas 
the first German Preparatory School was opened by Reverend P. P. 
Balzer in 1874 immediately upon his arrival in this country from 
Russia. He taught for several years in a sod house. He built for 
himself a home in 1878 and into this home he took the young men 
who desired to prepare for the teaching profession and gave them the 
proper courses of instruction. The first year he had only three stu- 
dents, besides his lower classes; they were H. D. Penner, Peter Bul- 
ler, and C. P. Richert. The first was later instructor at Bethel Col- 
lege, minister at Hillsboro, and later still superintendent of the Beth- 
el Hospital in Newton. The second became minister in the Alexan- 
derwohl Church, and now the Goessel Church. The third entered 
business in Elbing and later in Gotebo, Oklahoma. 

It was not long, however, until Balzer had all the students that 
he could accommodate. He continued his teaching until his election 
to the Eldership of the Church multiplied his duties to such an extent 
that he was required to give up his teaching. 

The next Preparatory School was opened near Moundridge, 
Kansas, under the supervision and instruction of J. F. Duerksen, also 
an experienced teacher from Europe. Duerksen later took a position 
in McPherson College as instructor in German, and upon his resigna- 
tion C. C. Epp was appointed teacher in the Preparatory School. 

The last Preparatory School was opened in Hillsboro, Kansas, 
in 1898, by Reverend H. D. Penner. Penner had been a very efficient 
teacher in Bethel College, but resigned this position when called to 
the ministry of the Hillsboro Church. Penner’s Preparatory School 
differed from the other two mentioned in so far as he offered English 
branches also. 

In Kansas a Teachers’ Society was organized in 1885, the Socie- 
ty in 1900 having seventy-five members, about sixty of whom were 
active in the teaching profession. The Society met twice each year 
for the discussion and consideration of educational problems of in- 
terest to teachers and patrons. Among some of the important speci- 
fic work done by the Society was the adoption of a uniform system of 


126 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


school books, the organization of a German Teachers’ Institute, and 
the publishing of a German song book for use in the schools. 


The Teachers’ Institute met for two weeks each August. It was, 
in reality, a brief Normal Course for review and instruction in meth- 
ods. Instruction was given in Religion, German, Pedagogy, Mathe- 
matics, Geography, and Vocal Music, all in the German language. 
Under Religion came Introduction to Old and New Testament, Bible 
History and Church History. Under German were Grammar and 
Syntax. Under Pedagogy, were offered Psychology, School Econo- 
my, Methods, and History of Pedagogy. Instruction was given 
through text books and lectures. 


A unique and interesting feature of the work was the “model” 
recitation, one or two of which were given each day. One of the 
students was appointed to teach a certain branch as he would teach 
it in an ordinary school. His pupils were chosen from among the 
students. After the recitation his work was severely criticized by 
the others, both merits and demerits being pointed out.* 


Finally, it should be said that the men and women who have de- 
voted their time and energy to the work of the German Parochial 
and Preparatory Schools have served in a larger capacity than they 
knew. ‘These Schools, the Preparatory Schools, in particular, have 
been a very important connecting link between the elementary school 
and the college. As time goes on, however, and the constituency be- 
comes more and more Americanized, and as the High Schools become 
more efficient, there will be a decreasing demand for the Parochial 
School, and the Mennonite Educational System will find itself fitted 
more and more into the American school system. 


*Kliewer—The Parochial School System. Document (1923). My pri- 
vate library. 


PR eT 


COLLEGIATE EDUCATION 
CHAPTER XI 


INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 


Original Anabaptism and modern Mennonitism, though radical 
in many respects, are nevertheless dynamic with ideals and principles 
which must and will find some avenue of expression. Individual 
freedom of conscience and an open Bible for all men are dynamic 
ideals and will find institutional expression. The roots of modern 
Mennonite collegiate institutions run far into the religious Reforma- 
tion of the 15th and the 16th centuries. Modern Mennonite Colleges 
are but expressions of the life innate in the denominational system, a 
life which has been too long suppressed. 

Pennsylvania is the cradle of American Mennonitism. This 
State was slower than New York in responding to the educational 
awakening of the early 19th century. A free public school system 
was frequently urged in the State, but not until 1849 was the “per- 
missive’ feature of the law of 1834 abolished, and the two hundred 
districts that had thus far refused to establish public schools were 
forced to do so. In 1854 the law was again revised and the State 
system of education was complete.* The coming of the free school 
system into Pennsylvania caused not a little concern among the Men- 
nonites and Quakers as to the future. The Mennonites gradually 
changed over to the free school system,+ and the movement toward 
Academies and Colleges soon followed. 


BEGINNINGS 
The large movements in human history generally center in cer- 


* Graves—A Student’s History of Education—p, 323 
+ Proceedings of The Pennsylvania German Society—Vol. IV. 


128 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


tain personalities. There are several men whose names deserve men- 
tion in connection with the beginnings of modern Mennonite colleges. 
They are: 


1. Abraham Hunsicker. The year 1848 was a year in the midst 
of a generation of orators of national fame, Daniel Webster and 
Henry Clay being among them. Horace Mann also was making him- 
self felt in New England. The free school system was becoming 
popular. Bishop Abraham Hunsicker, a Mennonite minister in East- 
ern Pennsylvania, seeing the need of Academic and Collegiate educa- 
tion in his denomination, purchased with his own funds, in 1848, a 
tract of ten acres of land near Philadelphia, and established Freeland 
Seminary. The school was opened on November 7th of the same 
year with an enrollment of three students, the total enrollment, how- 
ever, before the end of the year reaching seventy-nine. 


For twenty-two years this school was successfully operated, 
Henry Hunsicker, a son of the Bishop, being a leading teacher and 
factor in the institution. The school was non-sectarian at first, and 
no school in Eastern Pennsylvania was more popular, students from 
all denominations and from many states being enrolled. The Hun- 
sickers were men of strong convictions, having started the school with 
the hope and expectation of getting their chief support from the Men- 
nonites, but instead found their denomination offended, and they them- 
selves finally excommunicated from the Church. It was on February 
Sth, 1869, that Freeland Seminary became, what is now Ursinus 
College.* During the seventeen years of Henry A. Hunsicker’s prin- 
cipalship thorough and liberal courses of instruction in all the branch- 
es of an English, Classical and Scientific education were offered, and 
a total of 3,791 students were under his instruction. To date Ur- 
sinus College has given to the Church (Reformed) 330 ministers and 
i7 foreign missionaries. Besides 347 graduates have entered the 
teaching profession, 50 as presidents and professors in college, uni- 
versities and theological seminaries.}| The story of Mennonitism in 


* Historical Society of Montgomery County—Vol. III, p, 44¢. 
{ Ursinus College Forward Movement Bulletin (1922) 


Institutional Development La9 


America would be different today had the denomination taken a prop- 
er attitude toward Freeland Seminary. 


2. Joseph Funk. (1778-1862) During the years 1851-60 Jo- 
seph Funk was conducting a school at Mountain Valley (Singer’s 
Glen), Virginia. In 1859 this school advertised courses in Music, 
Grammar, Elocution and the Art of Teaching Music.£ For nearly 
one-half a century Singer’s Glen was the source of authority and in- 
spiration in the practice and theory of sacred music. Funk also 
translated the Mennonite Confession of Faith from the German to 
English in 1837. About 1847 he founded a printing establishment at 
Singer’s Glen, which was the first Mennonite printing establishment 
in America. From this press came a number of books, especially 
“music books, written by Funk and his sons. The most famous of 
these books was “Harmonia Sacra’, first published in 1832.* 

Joseph Funk was the forerunner of Funk and Wagnalls Com- 
pany, New York, as well as of John F. Funk and the Mennonite Pub- 
lishing Company, Elkhart, Indiana, and he deserves a prominent 
place among the promoters of education in his denomination. 


3. John H. Oberholtzer. (1809-1895) Oberholtzer entered the 
teaching profession when he was sixteen years of age and continued 
for fifteen years. In 1842 he was ordained to the ministry. Having 
been a teacher he applied his public school pedagogy in the pulpit with 
unusual success. He introduced religious education into his Church 
and was instrumental in organizing the first permanent Sunday 
School in the General Conference. He also became the editor of the 
first Mennonite periodical published in America, the “Religidser Bot- 
schafter”, the first issue appearing on June 9th, 1852. In this paper 
Oberholtzer frequently urged the necessity of education. 


Before the free public schools came into Pennsylvania a group 
of citizens, farmers in particular, would frequently join and engage a 
teacher for their sons. Occasionally they would unite in building a 
schoolhouse. Near Boyertown lived a Mr. John Ritter with a large 
family of boys. Ritter built his own schoolhouse, a two-story build- 


~t Wayland—History of Rockingham County, Va. p, 293. 
* Wayland—The German Element of the Shenandoah Valley—p, 172‘ 


2350 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


ing, the second floor being used for a schoolroom and the first floor 
for his pigs. It was in this schoolroom that Oberholtzer was engaged 
to teach the Ritter boys with others who came in on a payment of tui- 
tion. It was not unusual for the Ritter boys, with intent and pre- 
meditation, to break up the school by arousing and stimulating the 
appetites of the pigs to such an extent that the confusion of the 
quadrupeds on the first floor made it impossible to continue peda- 
gogically on the second. This building, used for this double purpose, 
is still standing and is known as the “Pig-Sty Schoolhouse”. 


THE, RISE, OF COLLEGES 


The purpose of the present thesis, will not require the recording, 
of details, or many interesting facts, in connection with the origin 
and development of Mennonite Colleges. The historic development 
of each institution is fascinating, in fact, a bit exciting, at times. 
Only the salient facts and movements will be noted with the view of 
interpreting the general educational tendencies in modern American 
Mennonitism.* 


THE WADSWORTH SCHOOL (1868-1878) 


The educational zeal of such men as Hans Denck, Menno Simon, 
Felix Manz, Conrad Grebel, and Balthasar, and Christopher Dock 
was destined to find more adequate and effective expression in the 
world. From Hans Denck and Menno Simon to 1868 was a long 
span, and had it not been for such men as Christopher Dock, the edu- 
cational fires likely would have died out. The school at Wadsworth, 
Ohio was a result of long years of effort against great odds. It was 
on May 20th, 1861, that the General Conference of Mennonites of 
North America, in their second annual session at Wadsworth, offi- 
cially adopted resolutions approving the establishment of a Theo- 
logical Institution, and the spark kindled by Dock and his predeces- 
sors broke into flames. Daniel Hege presented the major argument 


* Note: In my monograph, Education Among the Mennonites of 
America, are nearly 500 pages of facts and details concerning Mennonite 
Schools and Colleges. Every effort has been made, and no stone was left 
unturned, to secure every fact and to record the same. My private library. 


Institutional Development Jo 


for such an institution approaching from two points of view, namely, 
(1) The unification of American Mennonites, and (2) The spread 
of the Gospel of Christ.* : 

The argument met with general approval and Hege was elected 
to take the field in the securing of funds, a task which he found most 
difficult because of the newness of the venture as well as of the Civil 
War which created a most perplexing situation. The Eastern Dis- 
trict Conference at once took favorable action and gave the move- 
ment every possible support. It was on November 22nd, 1863, that 
Hege returned to his home at Summerfield, Illinois with a total of 
$5,738.58 from twenty-four congregations and a few isolated persons. 
On November 30th, eight days after his return, he died having de- 
veloped typhoid fever during his tour. 

In 1863 the Conference directing the drafting of a constitution 
for the school, which, among other things, contained the following: 

“Only well qualified men, thoroughly in harmony with the Men- 
nonite cause, should be employed. The school was to be conducted 
in the German language; however, English should also be taught. 
The course of study should occupy three years. Admission was 
granted upon satisfactory certificate of good character, to young men 
not less than eighteen nor more than thirty years old. The students 
should spend three hours a day at manual labor for the sake of their 
physical and mental health and for the benefit of the institution. Ac- 
cording to a later arrangement each student should pay one hundred 
dollars for instruction, board, lodging, washing, fuel and light. In 
the curriculum greatest prominence was given to the study of the 
scriptures. The direct management of the school was delegated by 
Conference to a committee of Supervisors composed of three mem- 
bers. This committee had authority to act for the Conference. . .”¢ 

During the summer and autumn of 1866 a school building was 
erected on a one hundred and three acre farm near Wadsworth,+ 
and the dedicatory services were held on October 13th and 14th of 


* Conference Proceedings, 1861 
Krehbiel—History of The General Conference—p, 83 


~ Krehbiel—History of The General Conference—p. 118f. 
+ Note: The building was begun in 1864. 


132 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


the same year, with the main address, based on John 7:37-38, was 
given by Rev. John H. Oberholtz:r. Addresses were also made by 
Christian Krehbiel, A. B. Shelly and John C. Krehbiel. Because of 
the lack of teachers the school wa: not opened until January, 1868. 


In the program of courses three departments were arranged, 
namely, (1) Theology, (2) German and Elementary Branches, and 
(3) English and The Sciences. The subjects taught in these depart- 
ments were: Bible History, Christian Doctrine, German and Eng- 
lish Grammar, Reading, Orthography, Rhetoric, Arithmetic, Algebra, 
Geometry, Geography, Natural History, Penmanship, Pedagogics, 
Church History, Secular History, Music, Singing, Foreign Lan- 
guages and Drawing. 


In the early catalogue mentioned above are the following en- 
trance requirements and rules: (1) Each one who comes to receive 
instruction in this institution must bring along a written testimony 
concerning his moral character, and if he comes from another school, 
then concerning his honorable discharge as well as his school knowl- 
edge, and hand it to the faculty, which then will decide whether he 
will be permitted to enter. (2) Any one not obeying the house rules 
shall be corrected by the principal of his disorderly conduct who shall 
conduct him in Christian love to obedience and betterment and ac- 
cording to the agreements of the entrance requirements. With refer- 
ence to his conduct each pupil must show a Christian conduct and be 
upright and true in word and deed. No pupil shall show himself out- 
side the campus without permission of the principal and much less in 
places that are questionable or even destructive.* 


Student life was more or less in keeping with Mennonite ideals 
of the time. Not much was done in athletics. Physical exercise was 
encouraged. Each student was required to work some each day as a 
matter of defraying expenses. Daily assignments were made. Some 
did stable work; some peeled potatoes; some carried wood; some did 


t Christliche Bildungs-Anstalt der Mennoniten Gemeinschaft, undated, 
but evidently the first catalogue, 


* Note: I have taken the entrance requirements and rules from the 
German as literally as possible which will account for the peculiarities 
and irregularities in English. 


Institutional Development 133 


carpentry; others shoemaking and wood cutting. Daily prayers and 
devotional scripture readings were observed. Everything moved with 
German regularity. 

As time went on the usual course of events succeeded each other 
in natural and regular order. A lack of experience in the manage- 
ment, the prevailing educational ideals, the perplexing debt which was 
growing annually, the internal friction, the loss of respect and regard 
tor the school by the students all contributed to the loss of confidence 
on the part of the Church and the local community. 

It was about 1877 when the Western District Mennonite Con- 
ference (Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma) was organized. The 
West had been supporting the Wadsworth school liberally and de- 
sired to see it prosper. At time reports from the school were encour- 
aging ; at other times discouraging. The Russian immigration during 
the 70’s drew money and attention away from the school. Misunder- 
standings among the faculty members, misunderstandings and per- 
plexities concerning the debt added to the embarrassment. In most 
of these difficulties neither patience nor forbearance were exercised. 
An attempt was made by some unknown person or persons on the 
night of July 3d, 1875 to burn the building. 

Repeated efforts were made to save the school. Mennonite stu- 
dents became less each year. In 1875 the school had a total of thir- 
teen students, six being Mennonites. Debts and internal difficulties 
still prevailed. A committee, composed of A. B. Schelly, J. H. 
Moyer, Christian Krehbiel, J. H. Funk, Daniel Krehbiel, S. F. 
Sprunger, and David Goertz, was appointed by Conference to adjust 
matters internal. The findings and report of the committee indicate 
that van der Smissen had assumed authority which did not belong to 
him and besides that he was not able to fully enter the spirit and sym- 
pathies of American people. 

Following this adjustment another committee was appointed, 
namely, Christian Schowalter, Christian Krehbiel, Peter Sell, and 
Daniel Baer, whose duty it became to devise plans for the future 
management of the school. The plans suggested by this committee 
provided for a theological and a German department, besides a Nor- 
mal School conducted in the English. Women were now admitted 


134 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


and in 1876 four lady students were registered. From this time the 
Normal School was the more popular. The school year was divided 
into four sessions—Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. The course 
of study included all the common branches, besides Rhetoric, Ele- 
mentary and Higher Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Physical 
Geography, Philosophy, Physiology, Botany and Vocal Music. 

The Normal School made some progress under the headship of 
A. S. Shelly having at one time as many as sixty students. It was 
then called the “Excelsior Normal School”. It was during the year 
however of 1878 that the Conference members lost courage and pro- 
posed to sell out the plant. The property was accordingly sold in 
July for the sum of $5,000.00. After all property was sold there 
still remained a debt of $685.38. The East and the West paid the 
debt but the school was gone. 

This did not mean that school work in ine Denomination was 
abandoned. According to the committee report the school was to be 
transferred to a more suitable place where the German language was 
the medium of expression. The West favored the East however 
when opportunity presented Kansas welcomed the institution. 

But the institution was not a failure, in fact it did a fine and re- 
markable piece of work during the brief years of its existence. In 
the Spring of 1871 the first graduating class of five men completed 
the three years Theological Course. 

The Wadsworth school, like that of any other institution, must 
be judged by its finished product. It is more clear today than ever 
that the value of this institution has developed along two main lines: 

(1) Values to the Individual. During the eleven years a total 
of 310 entered the institution. During the first nine years 209 differ- 
ent persons attended the school. It can not be accurately stated how 
many Mennonite young men were among this number, neither does it 
greatly matter; it is estimated however, that at least 130 were from 
Mennonite families. For the last two years of the school the enroll- 
ment is not accessible, but it is known that the enrollment was larger 
than earlier years. “Among our ablest ministers both West and 
Fast, are some who have secured their education in our (Wads- 
worth) school. Almost in every church there are some who have at- 


Institutional Development Lao 


tended that institution, and are now exerting their influence as lead- 
ers and teachers in Sunday School Etc. ...’* Among the more 
influential, many of whom are now dead, are the following: J. S. 
Moyer, N. B. Grubb, A. S. Shelly, A. M. Fretz, S. F. Sprunger, M.S. 
Moyer, P. P. Lehman, William Galle, and J. S. Hirschler. All of 
these men were successfully engaged in the Christian ministry. On 
the mission field should be mentioned J. B. Baer, I. A. Sommer, and 
Hi R.-V oth. 

(2) Denominational union. Perhaps one of the greatest results 
of the Wadsworth school is in the closer union which it brought and 
made possible in American Mennonitism. It was an undertaking 
which called for the united and cooperative effort of the Churches. 
Money was needed and for the first time Mennonites in America en- 
tered the one same enterprise. During the eleven years of the school 
not less than $31,700.00 was contributed to the work. Seventeen 
churches were represented in the financial support. The 130 Men- 
nonites from many sections of the Church who attended the institu- 
tion during the first nine years meant a closer fellowship among the 
Churches. The institution did accomplish things much worth while 
and while it closed its doors early the spirit of the movement is going 
forward today with greater force than ever. 


BETHEL COLLEGE 


It was on November 15th, 1877, that a number of ministers and 
school men met in the home of Rev. H. Richert near Goessel, Kansas 
to consider the possibility and advisability of establishing a denomina- 
tional school in Kansas. After due consideration resolutions were 
adopted to the effect that a central school was to be established ; both 
German and English courses were to be offered, and teachers were to 
be prepared for district and parochial school teaching. The Western 
District Conference on December 14th, of the same year considered 
the resolutions, appointed a committee to draft a plan for a Mennon- 
ite Academy, and to report at the next Conference session. It is due 
and just to this movement in Kansas to keep clearly in mind that it 


* A.B. Shelly—Christliche Friedensbote—1879 


136 Education Among the Mennomtes of America 


was not a competitive move with the Wadsworth school as the West 
was in favor of continuation at Wadsworth and adopted resolutions 
accordingly.* 

When the Wadsworth School closed its doors in 1878, the Gen- 
eral Conference at once gave directions to its Mission Board to es- 
tablish the school at a more suitable place, and that the work of the 
school was not to be abandoned, but to be placed on a more permanent 
basis, and more advanced courses offered. In 1879 it was decided to 
establish the school in Kansas. It was not until September 13th, 
1882, that the school opened at Goessel, about twelve miles north of 
Newton, with twenty-one students and with Rev. H. H. Ewert in 
charge. Here the school continued for one year. In order to secure 
more room and better opportunities the school accepted an offer made 
by Halstead, Kansas, nine miles west of Newton, and moved to that 
place in 1883 and continued there until 1893 as “The Halstead Sem- 
inary”, or “Fortbildungs-Schule”.+ 


In the Seminary at Halstead there were two main departments 
offering the following courses: In the German department was of- 
fered, Bible History, Catechism, Grammar, Church History, Bibel- 
kunde, Arithmetic, Latin, Pedagogy and Singing. In the English 
department, Bible Lessons, United States Constitution, Arithmetic, 
Grammar, Reading, Penmanship and Geography. 


An unusual and interesting piece of educational adventure was 
carried on in connection with the Halstead Seminary in that of an 
Indian school. Children from the Mennonite missions in Oklahoma. 
through cooperation with the United States Government, were brought 
to Halstead and educated. The school was conducted in much the 
same way as was the public school and practically the same courses 
offered. Until 1888 about thirty-three Indian children received in- 
struction at this place. 

It was agreed in 1883 that the Seminary stay at Halstead for a 
period of five years, at which time the permanent location was to be 
determined. Newton was bidding for the institution and at the end 


* Krehbiel—Hist. of The Mennonite General Conference—p, 262 
+ Mennonite Year Book and Directory—1917, p, 27 


Institutional Development Toy 


of five years made an offer of $100,000.00 in case the school would 
locate permanently at Newton. The Western District Conference 
was not ready to accept the offer unconditionally, but did decide to 
accept on condition that a School Society be organized within the 
Conference which Society was to assume all responsibility in carrying 
the proposition into effect. The institution at Halstead was to con- 
tinue as a Preparatory School, and both schools were to be granted 
equal privilege in soliciting funds in the denomination. 

Evidently because of the counter offer of the Western District 
Conference, the original offer of Newton did not go through. How- 
ever, Newton did give $20,000.00 in cash and forty acres of land, the 
School Society was organized, and “The Bethel College Corporation” 
was formed under the laws of the State of Kansas and the College 
was established. 

Perhaps it is true, at least in some measure, that men are not al- 
ways rational, that they act frequently upon impulse, and then pro- 
ceed to present elaborate and logical reasons for their actions. At 
any rate the first annual report of the Directors, among other things, 
present the following as a justification for the College, not quoting 
exactly: 

The conviction that the College is necessary is not only founded 
upon the hopes of the enterprise in Bethel College alone; but it has 
grown out of the observation and the experience of the past. A con- 
siderable number of young men have attended the institutions of other 
denominations . . . namely, Oberlin College, The Baptist Seminary, 
Rochester, N. Y., The Evangelical Seminary of St. Louis, Union 
Theological Seminary of New York, The Presbyterian Seminary, 
Bloomington, N. J., and the Methodist Colleges of Missouri and 
Iowa, and the Universities of other States. The fact that many Men- 
nonite young people are now in other institutions is evidence in itself 
to the fact that the Church needs her own institution. To deny our 
young people the privilege of education in these other institutions 
and give them nothing at home would not be right. Other schools 
have done much for us and we are dutybound to do something for 
ourselves, not only for our own young people, but for others. A 
good College will be very attractive to the Church. Legitimate in- 


138 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


ducements within the Church is the best way of holding young people 
away from unjustified outside attractions. Besides this a good cen- 
tral institution will do much toward unity in the denomination in that 
it will draw the leadership closer together. “Bethel College will give 
an opportunity to the sons and daughters of Mennonite families to 
gain an education within the pale of their own Church, as well as to 
pay the debt of gratitude to other denominations by opening wide the 
doors of the institution, so that all may have an opportunity to par- 
take of whatsoever advantages may be offered.’”* 

On October 12th, 1888, the cornerstone of the main building 
was laid with appropriate and interesting ceremonies. Because of 
many unfavorable conditions, financial and otherwise, the building 
could not be completed before 1893, when on September 20th, the 
doors were opened and the work was inaugurated. Between the lay- 
ing of the cornerstone and the completion of the work in 1893, weeds 
and sunflowers grew up around and higher than the unfinished walls, 
which fact furnished a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction, as well 
as opportunity for gossip, for the enemies of the movement. But 
Bethel College lives today and her enemies are passing unhonored. 

At the opening of the institution the course of study consisted of 
a Preparatory Course of two or three years, an Academy Course of 
three years, and a College Course divided into junior, middle and 
senior classes. 


The Preparatory Course (Vorbereitungs-Kursus) offered, Bib- 
lische Geschichte ; Lesen und Aufsatz; Schreiben; Grammatik ; Read- 
ing; Grammar; Arithmetic; Orthoepy and Spelling. 

The Academy Course (Akademischer-Kursus) of three years 
offered, Buibelkunde; Literaturgeschichte und Aufsatz; Weltge- 
schichte ; Grammatik; Bible Lessons; Physiology and Bookkeeping ; 
United States History and Civil Government; Physical Geography ; 
Arithmetic; Reading; Latin and Grammar for English Students. 
This constituted the first year in Academy. 

In the second year, Bibelkunde; Literaturgeschichte und Auf- 
satz; Kirchengeschichte; Latin; Rhetoric; Physics and Botany; Al- 
gebra and German were offered. 


delta Annual Report of Directors—1887-88 





Institutional Development 139 


During the third year, Leben Jesu; Studien in der deutschen 
Literatur; Weltgeschichte; Latin; English Literature; Pedagogy ; 
Geometry and Grammar. 


The College Course (Collegial-Kursus) offered, for junior class- 
es, Katechismus und Glaubenslehre ; Latin; Griechisch ; Mathematics ; 
Weltgeschichte; English Literature. For the middle class, Exegese; 
Altes Testament ; Griechisch ; Mathematics ; Natural Sciences ; Logic; 
Deutsche Literatur; English Literature; and for senior class, Exe- 
gese; Neues Testament; Griechisch; Psychology; Mathematics; 
Deutsche Literatur, and English Literature.* | 


From 1893 to 1910 Rev. C. H. Wedel served as head of the in- 
stitution and rendered most efficient service. Year by year equip- 
ment was added and new buildings erected. The Seminary at Hal- 
stead was declared “temporarily” closed by Conference in 1893, 
which of course meant closed forever,+ and not long afterwards all 
the buildings and equipment were donated to Bethel College. The in- 
ternal life, ideals and standards of the College experienced a normal 
growth in the right direction. The religious spirit was always strong 
and wholesome. Student activities at first were few, but as the insti- 
tution grew in experience student activities also grew. The Confer- 
ence took frequent and favorable action during the Wedel adminis- 
tration. In 1899 it was urged by Conference that a Chair of The- 
ology be established through which evangelists and missionaries might 
receive specific training. Upon the death of President Wedel, Rev. 
J. W. Kliewer assumed the presidency. Prof. J. H. Langenwalter, 
however, serving as acting president from 1910 to 1911. 


From 1911 to 1918 was something of a stormy period due more 
directly to the influences of the war. The institution, however, made 
good progress. The faculty grew, not only in numbers, but in quality 
as well. The first Bachelor of Arts graduates went out in 1912. In 
1913 the gymnasium and auditorium was built by the Alumni. Ef- 
forts, with good results, were also made to bring the College and the 
Conference closer together. The Y. M. and Y. W. C. A., Student’s 


* Annual Catalogue—1893-94 
+ Western District Conference Report—1891-93 


140 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Volunteer Band, Literary Societies, Oratorical Union, Athletic As- 
sociation, Young People’s Lecture Course, Science Club, Glee Club, 
Etc. were organized and work of superior excellence was done. 


The years 1918 to 1923 were years of readjustment. Confer- 
ence action during this period centered primarily in three questions: 
(1) The Conference and Corporation union; (2) Academic freedom 
and points of doctrine in relation to the faculty, and (3) A five year 
program for endowment and buildings. It was agreed between the 
Conference and the Bethel College Corporation that in case the Con- 
ference would raise $100,000.00 for endowment purposes, the Cor- 
poration would grant to the Conference six of the thirteen members 
of the Board of Directors. The matter of academic freedom was the 
common problem which faced most denominational schools following 
the war. The building and endowment program called for $500,- 
000.00, a large undertaking, but to date has been making good prog- 
ress. In 1920 President Kliewer resigned to make a world tour in 
the interests of missions. The writer succeeded President Kliewer 
for one year and resigned to accept the call to the Presidency of Wit- 
marsum Theological Seminary, at which time Dr. J. H. Langenwalter 
was elected to the presidency of the College, serving until 1924, Rev. 
Kliewer being re-elected in 1925. During the academic year 1922-23 
a total of 284 students registered in the institution, 136 being men 
and 137 women. The faculty consisted of twenty-two members of 
well qualified persons. 


The results of the three decades (1893-1923) can hardly be es- 
timated. The mission fields of India and China, and those among the 
American Indian, as well as the Christian ministry at the present 
time have scores of men and women who have received their training 
in Bethel College. The Alumni Association has grown beyond the 
expectations of the most optimistic. The names of H. H. Ewert, 
C. H. Wedel, David Goerz are among those which shall always be 
remembered in connection with the early days of the institution. 
Wedel and Goerz evidently gave their lives for the institution in the _ 
struggle against great odds‘and unjust criticism, but “Their works do 
follow them.” 


Institutional Development 141 
THE ELKHART INSTITUTE (1895-1903) 


The story of this institution would read like a novel had one time 
and space in this connection to relate it. But we must content our- 
selves with following briefly the main lines of development. This in- 
stitution was established by the Old Mennonite Conference, or rath- 
‘er by a corporation of men in the Old Conference. The institution 
grew out of the convictions of such men as Dr. H. A. Mumaw, Rev. 
John S. Coffman, Rev. J. S. Hartzler, Herman Yoder and Lewis 
Kulp. Dr. H. A. Mumaw, on Oct. 2d, 1882, opened the Elkhart Com- 
mercial and English Training School, on the third floor of the Rice 
Block in Elkhart Indiana, offering Academic and Commercial courses 
primarily. It was an evening school at first, co-educational and had 
for its purpose, “To supply persons engaged during the day with the 
needed facilities for acquiring a practical business and English edu- 
cation.”* The following year this institution was known as “The 
Elkhart Normal School’ and for a brief time was located in Goshen, 
Indiana, and while in Goshen was known as “The Goshen Normal 
School and Business Institute.” 

In the autumn of 1894 the Elkhart Institute was founded in Elk- 
hart, and in 1895 a building was erected on Prairie Street, which be- 
came the home of the institution. Frequent press notices in the Elk- 
hart City papers (Elkhart Truth in particular) indicate the populari- 
ty and progress of the school during its early days. For one year the 
school continued in the old Shiloh Field, G. A. R. Hall. In 1895 The 
Elkhart Institute Association was formed and incorporated with fif- 
teen stockholders.t The articles of incorporation show the aim and 
purpose of the Association to be that of providing an institution of 
learning under Christian influences, an institution which shall rank 
with the leading denominational schools, maintaining courses of study 
in the ancient and modern languages, the sciences and literature, his- 
tory and philosophy, as well as religion and morals. It is the aim to 
train men and women to clear, independent thought; to cultivate in 
each his own individuality, by original investigation. The aim is not 


* School Bulletin—1882 
+ Elkhart Institute Catalogue—1896 


142 Education Among the Mennomtes of America 


to be sectarian in any sense,* but to be positively and emphatically 
Christian in administration and work.y 


On August 21st, 1894, The Elkhart Institute opened with a reg- 
istration of four students the first day, which number increased to 35 
during the year. The building on Prairie Street was dedicated on 
Kebruay 11th, and 12th, 1896, the leading address of the occasion 
being made by Rev. John S. Coffman on the subject, “The Spirit of 
Progress.” In this address Coffman proved himself a quarter of a 
century ahead of his day, and had the Old Conference been true to 
this address her story of education would be brighter today and hun- 
dreds of young people and intelligent persons who have left the 
Church would still be numbered in her ranks. But as usual, they 
stoned the Prophets and their children make paths to their sepulchres. 
Coffman was modern and aggressive in his thinking and he laid the 
foundation in his early death for a liberal education and original 
thinking in his denomination, and though he be dead, yet he speaks. 


The general Church attitude at first was favorable toward the 
school, at least toward the idea of having a school. The Indiana 
Amish Mennonite Conference passed resolutions in 1899 urging her 
young people to patronize the Institutet The General Conference 
(Old Conference) of 1900 adopted favorable attitude and recom- 
mended support.* 


There were several courses of instruction offered by the Insti- 
tute: (1) The Latin-Scientific Course of four years; (2) A Nor- 
mal Course of two years; (3) A Bible Course of two years; (4) 
A Seminary Course for women of two years; (5) A Commercial 
Course of two years, and (6) A Shorthand and Typewriting Course 
of one year. Practically all of the Academic Courses were offered 
in these courses and not very much, if anything, above Academic. 


To N. E. Byers, now dean of Bluffton College, must go the 


* Note: The President of Goshen College in 1917 made reference in 
public address to the fact that the College was not “sectarian” for which 
remarks he received severe criticism. How the human mind does leak! 

+ Elkhart Institute Catalogue—1896, p. 5f. 

~ Minute—Amish Mennonite Indiana Conference—1888-1916, p. 85 

* Institute Monthly, November and December, 1900. 


Institutional Development 143 


credit for building the institution from the inside. No man has given 
himself more devotedly, and in the face of unjust criticism, to the 
promotion of education in any denomination. The rules and regula- 
tions of the institution were those common to institutions in this 
class. The religious atmosphere was always strong. Y. M. and 
Y. W. C. A. activities, though not organically connected with the na- 
tional organization,-were carried on.j The institution enjoyed fair 
health and its growth until 1903 was normal. 


But the school outgrew its quarters. In 1901 a committee was 
appointed to investigate matters relative to a new and permanent lo- 
cation. Effort was made to locate in Highland Park of the same 
town, but this failed. The city of Goshen made an offer and won. 
With Goshen’s offer of $10,000.00 work was begun on the new build- 
ing in June, 1903 and by September of the same year the doors of 
Goshen College were open.t The Elkhart Institute property was 
sold to the Mennonite Brethren in Christ for $6,000.00 who attempted 
a school but in a short time closed. 


During the short period of its existence The Elkhart Institute 
made an unusually large contribution to progress and effective service 
in the Old Conference. Ministers and missionaries, school teachers 
and professional men, in goodly numbers have been the finished prod- 
uct. The institution had proved itself worthy of becoming a larger 
and more far reaching institution which it did in Goshen College. 


On June 13th, 1903, N. E. Byers was elected President of Go- 
shen College. The Elkhart Institute Association was dissolved and 
the Mennonite Board of Education was incorporated in 1905. The 
organization of the new Board was one of the significant events in 
the founding of Goshen College, and also because of its constitution, 
being composed of representatives from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
men, the majority of whom had nothing more than a common school 
education, proved years later to be the downfall of the College. Many 
of the men on this Board were not in favor of a college education and 
were elected to the Board, not because they were educators and sym- 


+ Institute Monthly ..... April and September, 1901 
PEs ters ee, June and July, 1903 


144 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


pathetic toward the institution, but with the view of winning support 
from the several sections of the Church. Twenty years it required 
to show that such a Board could not successfully conduct a college. 
Goshen College was never a legal entity but was always subject to the 
Mennonite Board of Education which was incorporated, and which 
Board, during twenty years, not only failed to urge or conduct any- 
thing of an adequate program but definitely discouraged the execution 
of any progressive program suggested or urged by college officials. 
All the progress made in the College was made through the efforts of 
men within the institution. 

The grounds for Goshen College were broken on June 12th, 
1903, in a wheatfield joining the south side of the City of Goshen. It 
was a new day, one with great hopes and expectations. A suitable 
program was rendered and the new day for the Old Church had 
dawned. 

The first decade (1903-1913), under the presidency of N. E. 
Byers, was a period of rapid development, notwithstanding the fact 
that he was required to work against untold odds. The Mennonite 
soard of Education was not sympathetic toward his plans and pol- 
icies, and there was a continuous struggle for ten years when Byers 
resigned to take his present position as dean of Bluffton College. 


From 1903 until 1909 the institution was a Junior College, and 
from that date until its close in 1923 it offered the standard courses 
of a full four years’ college leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree. 
During the Byers administration the faculty was greatly strengthened, 
much new equipment was added to the plant, a strong religious at- 
mosphere was developed within the institution, strong men and 
women were going out of the institution into active religious service, 
as well as the teaching profession. In 1899 the Elkhart Institute had 
100 students and 5 members on its faculty; in 1907 there were 380 
students and 11 members on the faculty, with a financial crisis on in 
1906.* 


The first Bachelor of Arts graduates went out of the College in 
1910. Conference and committee reports during the first ten years 


* Goshen College Record—March, 1906, p. 97. 


Institutional Development 145 


were frequent, but generaliy of such a nature which either evaded or 
extended the real problems instead of solving them. “Efficiency ex- 
perts” in the educational profession were sacrificed. Peculiar forms 
of dress were continuous demands by members of the Board of Edu- 
cation as fundamental and important, while among the constituency 
these were growing increasingly unimportant. The breach between 
the Board and the College, as well as between the Board and the con- 
stituency, increased from year to year, until 1913 the cleft had reach- 
ed a point that the future seemed hopeless, and president Byers, with 
several other members of the faculty, resigned, leaving the institution 
in a precarious condition. There was a heavy indebtedness, the finan- 
cial support being almost wholly gone and it was a serious question 
whether the institution would continue to live at all. But the patient 
rallied and a second decade was entered upon. 


The years 1913 to 1923 may be conveniently divided into three 
periods: (1) First period of integration; (2) Second period of in- 
tegration; and (3) Period of disintegration. The first period covered 
the years 1913-1918; the second period covered the years 1918-1922, 
and the third the year 1922-1923. 


It was the fine spirit of cooperation on the part of the faculty, 
the student body and constituency, that promoted the second decade 
with a good deal of hope and bright prospects. In spite of stagger- 
ing handicaps,* the new administration determined to be loyal to the 
founders of the institution and to the Church which it represented. 
Positive effort was made in recognition of the rights of the rising 
generation of students in giving them a genuine college education, a 
training which would fit them to think clearly, originally and inde- 
pendently, to live effectively and to serve efficiently their day and 
generation.} 


The program of the second decade was three-fold: (1) To erect 


* Note: The purpose of the author in the present work can well be 
served without noting perplexing and unpleasant details in connection with 
the financial situation of the Board as far back even as 1903. Practically 
all the men who were financially responsible are still living and it will 
serve the author’s purpose quite as well, to record successes rather than 
failures. 

+ Mennonite Year Book and Directory—1916, p, 16 and 23. 


19 


146 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


a modern science hall; (2) To raise $200,000.00 for endowment; 
(3) To establish on the same campus a School of Theology. The 
first was accomplished, the second was not, and the third was guar- 
anteed by an initial subscription. of over $26,000.00 by C. H. Mussel- 
man, his parents, sisters and near relatives in the form of a John S. 
Musselman Memorial. 

There were three minor items in the program: (1) The intro- 
duction of a standard agricultural and domestic arts departments; 
(2) The incorporation of the College as a legal entity, and (3) a 
program of information throughout the Church bringing the institu- 
tion, its work and needs directly to the hearts and conscience of the 
people. 

The years 1914 to 1918 were unusually difficult and abnormal 
years due to the World War. The country’s finances were turned 
into channels of war. Local feelings developed more or less against 
the college due to the non-resistant, war opposing attitude of the con- 
stituency. Living costs increased. Many of the men students were 
required to discontinue their study because of the draft and recon- 
struction work. The endowment program for $200,000.00 was just 
well started in the spring of 1917 when the United States entered the 
war. Entrance into the war, with an epidemic of small-pox on the 
campus at the same time, terminated the campaign without material 
success. 

But the great hindrance to the progress of the institution was 
not war, but the incompatible difference in the minds and ideals of 
the college and the non-college groups responsible for the control 
and management of the institution. “Education” in the college meant 
something quite different from what it meant outside of the college. 
A college and university bred faculty trying to serve a non-college 
and non-university bred Board of Education tells the story. Condi- 
tions grew more and more tense until early in 1918 the situation of 
1913 had returned in magnified proportions.* 

From early 1918 to 1922 was a continued period of progress. 
The indebtedness of the Board was raised among the Churches by 


* Note: In February, 1918, the president resigned and took a position 
with Bethel College. 


Institutional Development 147 


the men in the College, and the institution was placed practically on a 
standard basis. The student body after the war showed a normal in- 
crease and the institution gained influence in the State. 

During the years 1918 to 1923 four presidents and one vice 
president served the institution; George J. Lapp, H. F. Reist, I. R. 
Detweiler and Daniel Kauffman; Detweiler serving for a time as vice 
president. As time went on the differences of educational views be- 
tween the college and the non-college groups came more and more in 
evidence. Professor Samuel Burkhard, in his keen analysis of the 
situation, says :* 

“The present crisis of the college and the church at large 
involves two historic issues. The one is the cardinal doctrine 
which the church in its early history made one of its chief 
foundation stones, It is the doctrine of the right of one to 
live by the dictates of his own conscience. No priest or any 
other human agency was to stand between a man and his God, 
nor was there to be any agency to force a man to accept an- 
other’s interpretation of scripture. Today we are again facing 
thrmissie.s. 2c): The other issue involves the doctrine oi 
non-resistance. ..... In its deepest significance it is an as- 
sertion that every man has a right to live and that we will do 
all within our power to grant this right ..... to live means 
that one shall be free to live the life that God has planned for 
hint aoe. It was this insistence upon the right to live within 
the freedom that God gives to every man that made our 


fathers break open the cage and bid adieu to the theologies 
and traditions of Catholicism.” 


This is no mean analysis and time will more and more vindicate 
the wisdom of the statement. It is the question of whether or not 
the historic principles of freedom of conscience and non-resistance 
dare be tolerated in education. It was the accumulated perplexities 
and problems resulting from a negative answer to this question which 
led the Board, in the Spring of 1923, to vote the closing of the insti- 
tution. 

Immediately following the decision of the Board the Alumni 
Association suspended action on their program for $50,000.00 en- 
dowment and inaugurated action in another direction. At their An- 
nual Meeting (1923) the Association appointed a committee whose 
duty it became to aid the officers of the Association in formulating 
plans and directing any work that might come before the Association. 


* Burkhard—The Case of Goshen College. 


148 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


This committee was composed of the following persons: I. R. Det- 
weiler, J. J. Fisher, A. E. Kreider, J. S. Yoder, R. L. Hartzler, F. 5. 
Ebersole. 

The committee set itself to the task in hands and after careful 
review of the situation reported as follows: 


“Whereas the students of Goshen College have expressed 
a desire for the advice of the Alumni Association in regard to 
their educational work for next year; 

And inasmuch as the Mennonite Board of Education has 
decided to close Goshen College for the coming year, it is the 
opinion of the Alumni Association that the ideals of Goshen 
College can best be perpetuated in a Mennonite institution 
rather than a Christian College of another denomination. 

After due consideration of the educational advantages, 
the religious and moral life, we have decided to recommend 
Bluffton College as the best fitted to conserve the fine Chris- 
tian ideals that existed in Goshen College, and therefore advise 
all college students who expected to enter Goshen College to 
make plans to enter Bluffton College this year.’ 


This report, dated August 16th, 1923, was scarcely made pubtic 
when the sentiment throughout Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Ontario, and 
parts of Pennsylvania was changed from Goshen to Bluffton. Money 
and students turned toward Bluffton College and Witmarsum Sem- 
inary. It remains for some future historian to record the final re- 
sults of the present course of events. 

An interesting interpretation of the action of the Board of Edu- 
cation in closing the school is given by one on the inside of the Col- 
lege and thoroughly acquainted with the facts. He says: 


“The action taken by the Board contrary to the express 
wish of the Church is significant and will still further compli- 
cate a serious situation. It is another illustration where ineffi- 
ciency and a lack of insight and foresight in one phase of 
Church work has a demoralizing influence on the work of the 
entire Church. A wise leadership could easily have avoided 


much of this demoralizing tendency. ... Now that the voice 
of the Church of the Middle West has been disregarded what 
shall be done to help our young people? . These young 


people have been deprived of a college because the nature of 
their problems have not been understood and because the in- 
stitution which undertook to aid them in the solution of their 
problems was misunderstood and misinterpreted, and, above 
all, because the high ideals which inspired those who pro- 
moted the work could not be appreciated. .... The scattered 
hopes and loss of confidence in those who are recognized as 
leaders in the Church because of the lack of wisdom which 


Institutional Development 149 


brought Goshen College into its present state is a great mis- 
fortune to the Church and it will take years to overcome the 
harm that has been .done..... 


An attempt is being made, after one year of closing, to reopen 
the institution on a basis which may be satisfactory to leading spirits 
on the Mennonite Board of Education. It was voted by the Board to 
reopen the school in September, 1924. Sanford C. Yoder, working 
toward the Bachelor of Arts degree in the University of Iowa, was 
elected president. Noah Oyer was elected dean, and C. L. Graber 
was elected business manager. The plan is to institute three depart- 
ments: College, Bible and Academy.t 


Concerning the opening and reorganization of the College Presi- 
dent Yoder, among other things, says :£ 


“In securing instructors it shall be the aim to secure men 
and women who are properly trained and fitted for the par- 
ticular fields in which they are to teach, and such as are not 
only trained but also able to present their subjects. We ear- 
nestly solicit the prayers of the Church in our behalf that we 
may be able to secure such a staff of instructors as will be in 
full harmony with the position of the Church and will actively 
cooperate with the administration and organization in carry- 
ing out the policies of the Church under which we labor.” * 


Whether or not the old and much loved Goshen College ever 
opens its doors again it is most evident that the time, the energy, the 
sacrifice and the money spent are still of eternal value. Goshen Col- 
lege for twenty years has been the educational salvation of the Old 
Church. From 1910 to 1923 the institution graduated 185 persons 


* The Goshen College Record—May-June, 1923 
+ Gospel Herald—March 13, 1924. 
PL Dicer een wares November 8, 1923. 


* Note: It may be of interest to note that with the re- 
opening of the College in 1924, the following faculty was en- 
gaged: S. C. Yoder, President (Mennonite); Noah Over, 
Th. B., Dean (Mennonite); S. W. Witmer, M. A. (Mennon- 
ite); Daniel Lehman, M. A. (Methodist); H. S. Bender, M. A., 
B. D., Th. M. (Mennonite); A. E. Weaver, M. A. (Method- 
ist); Silas Hertzler, M. A., B. D. (Mennonite); Alta M. Mal- 
loch, M. A. (Presbyterian); D. H. Unsel, M. S. (Seventh Day 
Adventist); Ernest Correll, Dr. oec. publ. (Lutheran); O. T. 
Rodman, M. A. (Disciples); J. F. Slabaugh, A. B. (Mennon- 
ite) ; Minnie Kanag ey, A. B. (Mennonite); Elsie Mae Landis, 
A, B. (Mennonite): Frank Blough, Mus. B. (Mennonite). 


150 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Among these graduates are about 
twenty-five ministers of the Gospel doing most efficient service, and 
a comparatively large number of missionaries. Besides these there 
are fifty or more ministers who at some time studied in the institution 
but never graduated. A large per centage of the graduates have en- 
tered the teaching profession, a number having found their way into 
University faculties. In view of all this it still remains in the minds 
of some few persons for “our educational system to prove to the 
Church that Church schools are of real value to the Church.’”* 
Goshen College has by no manner of means been a failure, and 
it is still the faint, but fond hope of some liberal hearted and open- 
minded persons that somehow under Providence Goshen College may 
again be established and regain its original standing and standards, 
and that the work which had made such satisfactory progress and 
was so successfully done, may be continued, and that the blunderings 
of the past may be forgotten and future generations saved the em- 
barrassment of inadequate apologies. | 


* Kauffman—The Conservative Viewpoint—p, 29 


Od iad mA eRe Dah ME 


INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT (Concluded) 


INTRODUCTION 


Large and significant contributions to the progress of American 
Mennonitism have been made by The Wadsworth School, Bethel 
College, The Elkhart Institute, and Goshen College. Besides these 
there are still other active institutions in the denomination which, if 
properly directed, are destined to figure largely in the future of Men- 
nonitism. 


BREUER TON COLLEGE 


The closing of the Wadsworth School left some men with a rest- 
less conscience. And besides, a closed institution did not leave an 
agreeable picture to be passed on to succeeding generations. The 
rise of Bethel College, in part, balanced the accounts. But even this 
left the Eastern States with no institution of higher learning east of 
Elkhart, Indiana. In view of this both the Middle District (General) 
Conference, and the Eastern District Conference, felt a serious need 
of a collegiate institution further east. 


It was in 1894, at Fortuna, Missouri, during the annual session 
of The Middle District Conference, that the need of such an institu- 
tion was brought to the attention of Conference in the reading of a 
paper by Rev. N. C. Hirschy on the subject: ““What Can The Middle 
District Conference Do for The Educational Interests of Our De- 
nomination?’ ‘The paper was convincing in its presentation and fa- 
vorable action toward the establishment of a school was taken by 
Conference. At a later session a committee was appointed to inves- 
tigate the matter and report accordingly. Among the recommenda- 
tions of this committee it was indicated that the school shall first be a 
Preparatory School with an academic course of study; that it shall be 
built on a small and reasonable scale, without great expense and en- 
tirely free from debt, and that it shall be entirely under the manage- 


152 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


ment of the Conference. In 1898 the Conference met at Danvers, 
Illinois, upon invitation from the Central Conference of Mennonites, 
and the school question was warmly (perhaps hotly) discussed. But 
Conference acted favorably upon the report of the Committee, the 
school organization effected, and decision was reached to locate the 
school at Bluffton, Ohio. A building and financial program, was la- 
ter adopted (1899), and the movement was well on its way.* A bit 
later a constitution with rules and regulations for conducting the 
school were drawn, and the corner stone of the first college building 
was laid on June 19th, 1900. 

The aim and purpose of the institution “Is to offer to young 
people an opportunity to obtain a sound Christian education at a low 
cost, and to assist them in preparing for the various avocations of 
life. The aim of the school shall be to meet existing educational 
needs of our churches. It shall be a decidedly Christian school. The 
principles and doctrines to be maintained are those set forth in the 
constitution of the General Conference of the Mennonites of North 
America.” + 

It was a further purpose of the organizers of the school that the 
institution should meet the needs for higher education in the denom- 
ination. It was also definitely desired to prepare young people for 
the work of the Sunday School, Young People’s Societies, and the 
Christian pulpit. It was for these reasons that special emphasis was 
placed on the teaching of the Bible. It was a religious interest pri- 
marily that prompted the promoters to establish the institution. 

“Central Mennonite College’, as it was known from 1900 to 
1913, was opened to students on November 5th, 1900, with twenty 
students enrolled, and with Rev. N. C. Hirschy as president. Only 
the Academic, Normal, Commercial and Music Departments were 
open the first year, no regular college work being done before 1903, 
and then only in mathematics. The Bible Course covered two years; 
the Academic, four years; the Normal, three years, with Junior Col- 
lege added in 1905. 


* Minutes of Educational Committee, p. 12 
The Review—Nov. 1899. 


+ The Constitution—Section III, Part I. 


5 


Institutional Development 105 


The Bible School was organized to fit men to become preachers, 
missionaries, Bible and Sunday School teachers. The school was 
open to students from all denominations, both men and women. Re- 
quirements for admission to the Bible School was preparation equiva- 
lent to graduation from the Academy. In special instances students 
whose educational training was deficient were admitted to such 
courses as they could take to advantage. Instruction was given in the 
great doctrines of the Bible, Church History, Old and New Testa- 
ment, and in the preparation and delivery of sermons, as well as prac- 
tical work. Students in the Bible School were permitted to carry 
courses in the College and the Academy without extra charge. 


From 1900 to 1913 normal progress in the institution was the 
experience. The Junior College was developed.* During the first 
five years 195 students matriculated, 119 being of Academy and 8 of 
Junior College grade. The same five years resulted in nineteen grad- 
uates.t Decision was reached also to endow a special Bible Chair.t 
The religious atmosphere of the institution was enhanced and regular 
vesper service was introduced.** New buildings were erected and 
the student attendance materially increased.j;+ After eight years of 
faithful and untiring service President Hirschy resigned. The usual 
perplexing administrative and financial problems followed for several 
years. Professor E. J. Hirschler served as acting president for a 
time when in 1910 Dr. S. K. Mosiman was elected president. A for- 
ward movement was put on and definite efforts were made to secure 
a larger endowment.t£ During the first eleven years of the institution 
466 students had been matriculated. Until 1913 there were 71 grad- 
uates and the total valuation of the plant was about $30,000.00. 


The period from 1913 to 1921 has been one of rapid advance- 
ment. In 1913 there was a demand in different parts of the de- 


* Bluffton College Record—June-July, 1905 

19 ai ap (a Bees Bre bey a7 du May and August, 1905 

t Minutes of Educational Committee—p. 62 

** Bluffton College Record—May, 1908 

++ Minutes of Board of Trustees—p. 73-75 

ti Bluffton College Record—Mar. and October, 1909. 


154 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


nomination for a stronger spirit of cooperation in educational work, 
the same to be crystalized in a central Mennonite College offering 
graduate work. In the spring of 1913 Goshen College was offered 
the opportunity to become this central institution. This was at the 
time when Goshen College was approaching its crisis at the close of 
its first decade, and the leading spirits of the Mennonite Board of 
Education squelched the idea before the men in Goshen College had 
any opportunity of giving the matter consideration. As a result the 
movement crystalized at Bluffton, Ohio. : 

A new epoch in the educational history of American Mennoni- 

tism was begun when five different branches of Mennonites agreed to 
meet on May 29th, 1913, in Warsaw, Indiana, and again on June 
24th, in Chicago, to consider ways and means of cooperating in the 
work of higher education among the Mennonites as a whole. It was 
found that about 1,400 young Mennonites in the United States and 
Canada were attending institutions of higher learning annually; that 
there were several hundred attending schools of other denominations, 
or State institutions ; a number had done work in foreign universities 
and many holding responsible positions in American Universities. In 
view of these, and other conditions the Warsaw meeting “Resolved, 
that it is the sense of this meeting that an institution be established, 
representing the various branches of the Mennonite Church, giving 
the under-graduate and the graduate work of a standard college 
(courses leading to A. B. and M. A. degrees), the theological and 
biblical work of a standard seminary. ... . ” The proposed school 
was to be located at Bluffton, Ohio, in connection with The Central 
Mennonite College. “Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary” 
was the new name adopted for the institution and the new epoch 
was on.* 
A new faculty, accordingly, was organized, several of the Goshen 
College men going to Bluffton in the spring of 1913. A new spirit 
was in evidence, new departments and courses were added and the 
‘inion educational movement was on its way. 

From 1913 to 1921 the Mennonite Seminary was an organic part 
of Bluffton College. A satisfactory number of students were in at- 


* Bluffton College Record, July, 1913. 


Institutional Development 155 


tendance each year. In 1921, the Seminary having outgrown its 
quarters, and seeing a larger field of service, became a separate and 
independent corporation under the control of six leading branches 
of the denomination. : 

“Few denominational colleges can point to a better record in the 
production of leaders for the altruistic walks of life than Bluffton. 
Since the reorganization of Bluffton College in 1914, and the grant- 
ing of higher degrees in 1915 there have been granted 237 A. B. and 
A. M. degrees. Not included in this number are 71 graduates of 
Central Mennonite College with diplomas from the Junior College 
and Academy. These 308 graduates are distributed as follows: 

“20 are foreign missionaries, including three who are under ap- 
pointment to sail in the near future; 13 ministers of the Gospel; 2 
medical mission students; 2 theological students; 6 “Y” secretaries ; 
13 college and university teachers; 6 women married to ministers; 
5 women married to college professors; 19 high school superintend- 
ents and principals; 98 high school teachers; 4 music teachers; 16 
graduate students; 41 business and farming; 2 college librarians; 
46 women married most of whom taught from 1 to 5 years; 1 stu- 
dent abroad; 7 physicians and dentists; 2 in government research 
work; 1 in secretarial work; 4 women at home. 

“Among former students who did not graduate are 11 mission- 
aries; 15 ministers; 2 “Y” workers; 10 college teachers; 2 superin- 
tendents of schools; 4 physicians; and about 225 teachers in grades 
and high schools. 

“Accordingly there have gone out 31 missionaries; 28 ministers, 
8 “Y” workers, 23 teachers in colleges, and more than three hundred 
are in educational work.’’* 


TABOR COLLEGE 


Tabor College was founded and is controlled by the Mennonite 
Brethren Church of North America (Briider-Gemeinde). This 
Church was organized in Russia in 1860. Upon coming to America 
about 1875, they had among them a few educators who saw the need 


* United Campaign for Christian Education, 1924, 


156 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


of an educational system. In 1885 they organized in Kansas a School 
Society which had for its aim the promotion of the educational in- 
terests of the Church. For a time this Conference patronized The 
Halstead Seminary, which was controlled by the General Conference. 
In 1892, in annual conference, a school was suggested for Henderson, 
Nebraska. From 1875 to 1892 there were conducted small parochial 
schools in different sections of the Conference. In 1898, in annual 
Conference, the question was raised as to the propriety of uniting 
with McPherson (Dunkard) College in educational work. Though 
the Conference did not act favorably, yet the school friends in Kan- 
sas placed J. F. Duerksen in the German Department of this College 
and paid his salary through freewill offerings. The College was glad 
to welcome such a move and during the first year ten Mennonite 
students were registered. Jn 1899 Conference voted approval of 
freewill contributions toward the salary of Duerksen. In 1901 the 
suggestion was again urged in favor of a Conference school and a 
movement was started to raise funds. In the meantime the chair in 
McPherson College was maintained and by 1904 the number of stu- 
dents enrolled reached twenty-five. In 1905 the Conference voted to 
discontinue support at McPherson. During the seven years at Mc- 
Pherson a total of 249 Mennonite students were registered. 

The development of the school movement in the Mennonite 
Brethren Conference was similar to that in the other Conferences. 
Tabor College, during the years 1905 to 1918, witnessed the usual 
experiences of the small denominational college. Tabor College, in 
fact, did not open until in the autumn of 1908, when it registered 
thirty-nine students on the opening day. At the opening of the school 
academic courses, in both German and English departments, were 
arranged. At the end of the first eleven years, 1918, the faculty 
numbered fifteen members and the regular student enrollment was 
about 200. In 1918 the departments of Academy, Theology, Com- 
merce, Music, Art and Expression were enlarged. In the same year 
a College department was also added. 

From 1918 Tabor College witnessed the common post war prob- 
lems, with the added misfortune of losing the college plant by fire on 
April 30th, 1918. Temporary arrangements to continue the school 


Institutional Development 1 bay 


were made until a building program could be. executed. A building 
fund of $100,000.00 was launched and a new building was promoted.* 


It was on the 12th of September, 1920, that the new college 
building was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. The school year 
was opened with great enthusiasm and with an increased attendance, 
reaching a total of 354 during the year. Thirty-eight diplomas and 
certificates were granted in the spring of 1921. 


In connection with the erection of the new college building a 
inew ladies’ dormitory was also erected. This building is known as 
the Mary J. Regier Ladies’ Home, due to the fact that the building 
was made possible through a gift of $15,000.00 by Miss Regier. The 
building is three stories and is fireproof. It is 80 feet long and 34 
feet wide. The first floor contains the kitchen, three store rooms, and 
a large dining hall. The second floor is provided with reception room, 
wash room and students’ room, and the third floor is given to stu- 
dent rooms. This building was used for school purposes until the 
main college building was completed. * 


Certain rules and regulations are always needful in the manage- 
ment of such an institution as Tabor College. In this institution it is 
expected that students conduct themselves in private and public as is 
becoming to respected members of a Christian society. Tabor Col- 
lege does not pose as a place where young men and women may go in 
order to have a “good time”. Proper recreation is provided from 
12:00 M. to 1:30 P. M. and from 4:30 to 7:00 P. M. All families ta- 
king student roomers are required to see to it that students are in 
their rooms at 7:00 P. M. All students are expected to keep the 
Lord’s Day holy, and attend religious service both morning and eve- 
ning. All students who find no Church of their own denomination 
ate expected to attend either the Mennonite Brethren or the Krim- 
mer Mennonite Brethren Church. Mutual visits between men and 
women students are permitted only with the special permission of the 
faculty. The use of tobacco and intoxicating liquor is not tolerated. 
By his enrollment the student agrees to abide by the rules and regu- 
lations of the school.* 


* Tabor College Herald—June, 1919. 


158 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


On May 20th, 1919, the new college building was begun and 
in the autumn of the same year the doors were opened for work, 
the dedicatory services being held on September 12th, 1920. 

The aim and purpose of Tabor College from the beginning has 
been, “To benefit humanity in general culture and biblical in- 
formation, and the dissemination of general culture and_ bibli- 
cal information, and the development of character through the 
school atmosphere and influence. We attempt to live up to the con- 
viction that the education of the children is the first duty of every 
generation, and that no education is complete unless it make provision 
for the development of the body, soul and spirit. Holding that relig- 
ious training is essential to all, the school encourages the study of the 
Bible, and the religious life among its students. We wish to prop- 
agate the Gospel of Peace and Good Will to Men and advance the 
Kingdom of Christ both intensively and extensively.’ 

The religious life of the institution is promoted through Y. M. 
and Y. W. C. A. activities which consist primarily of prayer meet- 
ings, mission bands, Bible study, Etc. The literary activities are such 
as are common to every college in this class. 

The growth and development of the institution since 1908 have 
been very satisfactory. In 1908 the school started with three teach- 
ers and thirty-nine students. In 1923 there were seventeen members 
on the faculty, representing in their training The University of Kan- 
sas, Rochester Theological Seminary, Oklahoma State University, 
Yale University, Colorado University, Salt Lake Business College, 
and Witmarsum Theological Seminary. The departments of study 
have been extended. The library has over 3,000 volumes. The 1923 
catalogue shows the previous year with a total of 60 students regis- 
tered in the college department ; 166 in the Academy; 74 in Bible; 29 
in Art; 93 in Piano; 36 in Voice; 73 in Business; 20 in Violin; with 
a net enrollment for the year of 352. 


FREEMAN COLLEGE 


The Mennonites of South Dakota immigrated from Russia and 
Germany, primarily from Russia. During their pioneer days (1873 


~ Tabor College Catalogue—June, 1919. 


Institutional Development 159 


to about 1900) they were content with private and public schools. 
Like the Mennonites of Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma, they were 
strict in maintaining the German language. They were also strongly 
in favor of biblical education such as they were not getting in the 
public schools. There also developed a demand for higher educa- 
tion. These were the conditions which furnished the occasion for 
“The South Dakota Mennonite College,’’* later “Freeman College’, 
and now (1924) “Freeman Junior College and Normal School.” 


The first definite effort toward the establishment of this institu- 
tion was that made by the Churches in the Freeman, South Dakota, 
community in 1903 in the appointment of a committee whose duty 
it was to investigate the matter and to make such report and recom- 
mendation as seemed to them advisable. A building program was in- 
stituted and a building erected the same year, though the Articles of 
Incorporation had been drawn up in 1900. 


Article VI in the Articles of Incorporation provides for the es- 
tablishment of the following Department: Classical, Scientific, Nor-. 
mal, Preparatory, Music, Commercial, and Bible. The Classical de- 
partment to include the usual four years College Course. The Scien- 
tific department to include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, 
Botany, Zoology, Geology, Paleontology, Modern Languages, such as 
German, English and French, also History, Philosophy and Political 
Science. The Normal department to correspond with like depart- 
ments in State Institutions. The Preparatory department to include 
Classical, Latin, Scientific and Literary courses. The Music depart- 
ment to include both vocal and instrumental instruction. The Com- 
mercial department to include the courses generally given in such de- 
partment. The Bible department to include regular outlined courses 
in biblical instruction. 


The first annual catalogue (1903-04) shows but two members 
on the faculty: J. R. Thierstein as Principal, and “Lehrer der ma- 
thematischen and naturwissenchaftlichen Facher,” and Rev. H. A. 


* Second Annual Catalogue. 


~ For details in courses of study see monograph—“Education Among 
The Mennonites of America, p. 299. My private library. 


160 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Bachmann, “Lehrer der biblischen and geschichtlichen Facher.” 
The school year extended from September 5th to May 26th and was 
divided into three terms. The student enrollment for the first year 
reached a total of 110. From the beginning the religious life within 
the institution was given special attention. The rules and regula- 
tions of the school were very similar to those of other schools in this 
class. 


The Churches in and around Freeman which were responsible 
for the establishment of this institution were members of the Men- 
nonite General Conference. It is one thing to start an institution 
and another to justify it. In 1905 a justification of this institution 
was given in the following: “In the absence of a school of their own 
that was adapted to their peculiar needs, the young people (of The 
Mennonite Church) either had to suppress their desire for learning 
or patronize institutions outside, and the results of these sojourns 
have not always been satisfactory. Hence, thoughtful men of the 
denomination began to realize the necessity of schools of their own, 
in charge of positively Christian teachers, where the young people 
might receive instruction in the truths of the holy Scriptures, and 
where they would have an opportunity to prepare themselves for the 
work of teaching in the district, parochial and Sunday Schools, or for 
other useful vocations in life... .”* 


While the institution was strictly denominational, yet, it was 
open to young people of good moral character, “Irrespective of sex 
or church affiliation.”” The institution offers itself in particular to 
those who desire an education founded upon strictly Christian prin- 
ciples. Candidates for admission were required to furnish satisfac- 
tory evidence of good character. 


Progress in the development of the institution from 1903 to 1913 
along the lines of the purpose of the school were quite satisfactory. 
Strict discipline was always observed and student activities developed 
normally.; In 1913 Dr. Eddison Mosimann was elected president of 


* Second Annual Catalogue—1905-06. 
+ Annual Catalogue—1912-13. 


Institutional Development ) 161 


the institution. The beginning of the second decade marks some- 
thing of a new beginning in the development of the school. While 
the aim and purpose of the institution remained much the same, yet, 
from year to year the aim and purpose was restated with slight varia- 
tions. More emphasis by this time was placed on preparation for 
College entrance for those who desired to continue their education. 
The German language was still strongly emphasized. Very little 
college work had been done before 1913 due to the fact that faculty 
and equipment did not justify the attempt. The intention was, how- 
ever, to develop the institution into a Junior College as soon as pos- 
sible. In 1913 the total enrollment was 141, while the Alumni Asso- 
ciation had a membership of 41 graduates. Early in 1917 President 
Mosiman resigned,* and was succeeded in this position by A. J. 
Regier, a former student of Goshen College, and an A. B. graduate 
of Bethel College. By the year 1918 the institution showed some- 
thing of a cosmopolitan character. “Up to the present time (1918) 
we have 103 regular and 23 special students enrolled. Of this num- 
ber 43 are boys and 83 are girls. Among the regular students there 
are 49 freshmen, 31 sophomores, 10 juniors, and 10 seniors. There 
are 85 Mennonites, 14 Lutherans, 3 Evangelical, and 1 Reformed. 
Of the Mennonite Churches the following three have the greatest 
representation: Salems, 35; Salems-Zion, 17; Friedensberg, Avon, 
7. There are 51 Schweizer, 17 Huterisch, and 17 Low Germans 
among the 85 Mennonites.’’+ 

In 1923 the annual catalogue represents the institution as ‘‘Free- 
man Junior College and Normal School”. The institution now has a 
faculty of eight members, all except one having the Bachelor of Arts 
degree, and one having the Master of Arts degree, and one the Bach- 
elor of Science. Every member of the present faculty (1923) has 
received training in.one or more of the Mennonite educational insti- 
tutions of America. The Alumni Association has a membership of 
155, dating back to the class of 1906. The enrollment during the 
past year (1922) stood as follows: Academy, 44; Intermediate 


* Freeman College Bulletin—March, 1917. 
YAS) Cs Sea uae merce a November, 1918. 


It 


162 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Normal, 61; Elementary Normal, 2; Four Year Bible Course, 2; 
Unclassified, 3; Piano, 52; Voice, 7; with a total of 124 enrolled. 


Since the establishment of the school 203 students have gradu- 
ated from the Academy or the Normal department. The following 
will show the rate of increase in graduates each year: ‘Class of 1906 
there were 4; 1909, 6; 1914, 10; 1917, 13; 1920, 10; 1921, 22; 1922, 
23 1925) 22 ano 433, 


It is likely reasonable to assume that for a number of years to 
come there will be a place in the Northwest for a Junior College such 
as the one at Freeman. Hundreds of young men and women have 
been, and will be, reached educationally through this school who never 
would have ventured out into some other institution. There can be 
no question but that the institution has met a great need in the Church 
and will continue to do so. 


HESSTON COLLEGE 


Mennonitism began its journey down the centuries in 1525 in the 
spirit of individualism, or freedom of conscience. Other than the 
Bible and the individual conscience there was no centralized denom- 
inational authority for the first one hundred years. The Mennonites 
had no written Confession of Faith, which was universally accepted, 
until 1632. It is a matter of real regret that the Mennonites during 
the more recent generations have misappropriated the principle of 
individualism. They failed to observe that a strong individualism, 
that freedom of conscience, was the basis for strong and effective co- 
operation rather than the occasion for disunion. 


The seventeen branches, as well as the comparatively large num- 
ber of collegiate institutions, in a denomination with a constituency 
of perhaps 125,000, is due, in a large measure, to the work of a cer- 
tain class demanding uniformity of doctrinal belief, a thing quite 
foreign to the “Faith of Our Fathers” during their first one hun- 
dred years. Asa result Mennonites today know little of cooperation 
either among themselves or with others. The least divergence in 
matters of faith or practice, during the past generation or two, has 


Institutional Development 163 


been the occasion for disunion, disruptions and divisions. The source 
of the difficulty is traceable to inefficiency in leadership.* 

Goshen College was doing the educational work of the Old Men- 
nonite Conference very successfully and with a high degree of satis- 
faction to the constituency. From the days that Goshen College 
opened its doors in 1903 there were men in the church, both east and 
west, who had no college, and in most cases, no academic training, 
who were dissatisfied with the institution and its work. 

“Hesston Academy and Bible School’, as it was at first known, 
was in part a product of this dissatisfaction in the effort to build a 
school which did conform to the ideas of this group of men. Several 
items were frequently mentioned by the promoters of the institution 
as sufficient reasons justifying another school. There was the geo- 
graphical reason. In 1908 the distance from Kansas to Indiana 
seemed very great to many people, and many young people would not 
get to college at all unless there was a denominational school nearer 
home. There was the doctrinal reason. Criticisms had been prefer- 
red against Goshen College on points of doctrine, chiefly on the mat- 
ter of the “inerrancy and verbal and plenary inspiration” of the Bible. 
The promoters of the new school believed in “The full and verbal 
inspiration of the Bible as God’s word, its inerrant preservation, and 
its absolute authority,”+ and set out to build a school which was to 
accept this statement of the doctrine. 

There was, in the third place, a diversity of educational ideals. 
To some men revelation was something which took place in the past 
only; all worth while truth had been spoken; and education meant 
simply handing over to the rising generation ready-made and predi- 
gested truth from which there could be no deviation and concerning 
which there could be little or no question. They were opposed to 
anything like cooperation with other branches of Mennonites.t Go- 


* Note: From the days of the founders of the denomination until 
about fifty years ago there were no college or university men in Mennonite 
pulpits. Until about fifteen years ago there were no regularly theological- 
ly trained men in their pulpits. Mennonite Church divisions started, as a 
rule, in the pulpits, not in the pews. 


+ Conference Record Kans.-Nebr. Mennonite Conf. p. 187 
Pe LaTe ar Lasts 3% p. 180 


164 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


shen College held to academic freedom, to openmindedness, and the 
inalienable right of student and professor to think and to test any 
statement in the laboratory of time and experience. 

There was a fourth factor which needs to be taken into account 
in this connection, namely, that of “conservatism’’ and the more lib- 
eral and aggressive type of thinking. Goshen College represented 
the educated constituency and naturally, was more aggressive. The 
less educated constituency through its leadership was more con- 
servative, attempting to conserve the past with its traditions, customs 
and formal doctrinal statements, while Goshen College, her sons and 
daughters, looked toward a vital, progressive and constructive pro- 
gram for the future, and believing that the future was filled with 
good as well as the past. 

There was also the desire on the part of the promoters of the 
Hesston School to have all members conform to formal dress rules 
and regulations, the men to discard the use of neckties and to wear 
the Episcopal clerical coat, and the women to discard the hat and to 
wear the plain bonnet, neither of which is Mennonite in origin. 

The promoters of the Hesston School were also opposed to the 
use of musical instruments and to this day allow none in the institu- 
tion,* while Goshen College, from the beginning gave large place to 
instrumental as well as vocal music. These, with other things, were 
among the motives giving rise to a second school in the Old Mennon- 
ite Conference.} 

It was in 1907 that the Kansas-Nebraska Mennonite Conference 
raised the question of establishing a school in the west, to which reply 
was made as follows: “Resolved, that this Conference believes that 
the cause of Christ would be advanced by establishing such a school 
with a consecrated faculty strictly in order of the Church and that we 
request the Mennonite Board of Education to take steps to establish 
such a school somewhere in the West.”* The Missouri-lowa Men- 
nonite Conference took similar action at about the same time. On 


* Conf. Record Kans.-Nebr. Conf.—p, 45 


+ Note: Among the leading promoters of the school were G. R. 
Brunk, T. M. Erb, D. H. Bender, D. J. Lapp and Daniel Kauffman. 


* Conference Record, Kans.-Nebr. Men. Conference—p. 139f. 


Institutional Development 165 


November 14th, 1907, the General (Old) Conference took action, 
appointing an investigating and locating committee,f which committee 
set to work and in August, 1908, decision was reached to build a 
school and to locate same at Hesston, Kansas. 


During the period from 1909 to 1918 the institution operated 
under the name, “Hesston Academy and Bible School.” A building, 
serving both as dormitory and for class work, was erected in 1909, 
and housed the school until 1918, when another building, now the 
main building, was erected. The Academy opened on September 
22d, 1909 with 21 students enrolled, and with three departments of 
study organized, namely, Bible, Academy, and Normal. The Normal 
department attempted to meet the State requirements for teaching. 
The Academy was similar to the average High School of four years; 
and the Bible department offered a two years elementary course of 
study. 


It was the aim of Hesston Academy to avoid the “dangers” 
seen by some men in other institutions. It was the aim of the pro- 
moters of the Academy to train a generation of students who would 
conform to church traditions, it being objected that Goshen College 
was not doing this, which objection had some grounds.* In more 
recent years the aims of the Academy were to furnish facilities for 
obtaining an education under Christian influences, “Preparing for 
teaching public school, College entrance, and usefulness in life.” + 


During the years 1909 to 1914 the institution graduated fifty 
students; 17 from the Bible department, 28 from the Academy, and 


+ Minutes of Mennonite Board of Education. 
The members of the committee were: Bishop John Blosser, D. H. 
Bender, T. M. Erb, S. B. Wenger, C. D. Yoder, G. R. Brunk, and 
J. E. Hartzler. The committee was a combination of two com- 
mittees, and there was not entire agreement as to the advisability 
or location of such school. 


* Note: The Goshen College constituency recognized the fact that 
customs and traditions were many, coming and going with the changing 
conditions of society; and for this reason contended for abiding principles, 
for a full and free Gospel, rather than for the traditions and customs of the 
past seventy-five years. 


+ Youth’s Christian Companion—Sept. 24th, 1922. 
Also annual catalogue—1919, 


166 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


12 from the Normal department. Following 1914 the demand grew 
for a College Department and a more advanced Bible Department, 
and from that date (1914) the institution was known as “Hesston 
College and Bible School”, there being a Junior College department 
added as well as more advanced Bible work. 


The educational outlook and attitude of the institution in 1919 
was well expressed in the official College organ in the following 
words: ‘With notable exceptions the colleges, universities and even 
theological seminaries of our country have been stranded on the rocks 
of liberalism, destructive higher criticism, skepticism, and open in- 
fidelity. Unsanctified scholarship with its boast of ‘historical meth- 
od’, ‘traditional interpretation’, and ‘unbiased conclusions,’ had al- 
ready set aside the authority of the scriptures, and has exalted the 
authority of human reason and human judgment in its stead. The 
Bible is seldom any more taught as being God’s divinely inspired 
word. Present-day writers of text-books for the study of theology 
seldom quote scripture or take it as the basis of their work. Theo- 
logical seminaries on the whole have ceased to be Bible schools and 
have become instead mere institutions that represent various schools 
of present day speculative philosophy and nothing more.’”* 


From 1914 to 1918 the College department was of Junior grade. 
In 1918 the demand was made for a four-year college course lead- 
ing to the Bachelor of Arts degree. It was in the spring of 1918 that 
the Mennonite Board of Education was asked to grant the privilege 
of instituting a regular four-year college course. The Board grant- 
ed the request and the same year the course was outlined. From this 
time the institution arranged its courses of study under College, Bible 
and Academy. The Bible department proceeded on the basis of the 
study of the Bible from both theoretical and practical view point. 
The Academy covered the ordinary work of the High School pre- 
paratory for college entrance. The Normal department was arranged 
to prepare public school teachers and to meet the State requirements. 
The Music department offered vocal music only, musical instruments 
being considered unchristian and inventions of the evil one. The 


* Hesston College Journal—1919 


Institutional Development | 167 


College allows from twelve to twenty-four hours credit on Bible for 
graduation.f 

Student activities in the institution are more or less limited, par- 
ticularly in athletics, there being no intercollegiates whatsoever of 
any kind.* In religious affairs there is the prayer meeting, Bible 
study, Mission study and mission bands. There is no connection or 
affiliation whatsoever with the National Y. M. or Y. W.C. A. Stu- 
dents are not encouraged, rather discouraged, in the matter of at- 
tending Student Conventions. Definite efforts are made to keep the 
students from coming in touch with the great student movements of 
America. The purpose of this is evident. The idea is to train a gen- 
eration of students with certain fixed ideas, ways of thinking, and 
ways of acting, all of which can not be done when a student body 
comes into vital touch with the great student movements of America 
or the world. 

Persons elected to the faculty of Hesston College are first sub- 
mitted to a rigid theological test. Among other questions the follow- 
ing are submitted for definite answer: 

State briefly your views on the following points of doctrine: 
(a) The creation of man as compared with the theory of evolution. 
(b) Inspiration of the Bible. (c) Higher Criticism. (d) The fall 
of man and its results. (e) Divinity of Christ. (f) Atonement. 
(g) Repentance and conversion. (h) Regeneration and sanctifica- 
tion. (i) Baptism. (j) Communion. (k) Feet-washing. (1) De- 
votional covering. (m) Non-resistance. (n) Non-conformity. (0) 
Secret Societies. (p) Life insurance. (q) Resurrection. (r) Fu- 
ture state of the righteous and the wicked. .... If appointed to a 
position in this institution, would you be willing to conform to the 
teachings and practices of the Church in the matter of plainness of 
attire and general separation from the world... . ?”t 

It should be noted that through this institution since 1909, a 


+ Annual Catalogue—1919, p, 26. 

* Annual Catalogue—1919, p. 23. 

~ See Printed Question For Prospective Teachers 
“Plainness of attire” means the wearing of the bonnet or hood by 
women, and the “plain coat” (coat without collar) for the men; the 
men also not to wear neckties, crushed hats, Etc. 


168 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


group of young people have been reached and started along educa- 
tional lines who. otherwise never would have been reached. Even 
though the educational aims and ideals have not been what some have 
desired, yet, a goodly number of young men and young women have 
caught a broader vision of life and its possibilities. The institution 
has caused restlessness, a dissatisfaction, in the lives of some young 
men and women which evidently will produce unexpected results. 
The young people who attend Hesston College are of the same hu- 
man stuff as those who attend any other college. They are not im- 
muned to the educational, religious, ethical, and idealistic germs of 
modern atmosphere. Even though the germs may lie dormant for a 
time, one day unawares even to themselves, when conditions are fa- 
vorable, activity begins and results obtain. There is no vaccination 
against educational, religious, ethical and social ideals in the modern 
world. The two strong arms of God, educational advancement on 
the one side, and scientific discovery and invention on the other, are 
binding the human race into one body from which there is no escape 
and in which there is no isolation neither insulation. No College to- 
day can live to itself nor die to itself; it is a part of the great collegi- 
ate system whether it wants to be or not. 

Up until and including the year 1923 Hesston College has grad- 
uated 18 students; The Academy has graduated 163; the Normal 
department, 50; the Bible Academy, 35; and the Bible department, 
20. Many of these persons are active in their home Sunday Schools; 
some have entered the ministry, and a few have entered foreign mis- 
sion work. 


THE. EASTERN MENNONITE SCHOOL 


When men insist that every item in the Christian religion, every 
item of faith and practice, must mean one and the same thing to all 
men of all experiences and for all time, there can be no unity, only 
divisions into smaller and smaller groups, until finally they vanish 
and disappear entirely. 

The rise of the numerous Mennonite schools is due, in part at 
least to the fact that the religious leadership of the denomination dur- 
ing the more recent generations has failed to recognize the divine 


Institutional Development 169 


laws of survival and elimination. A few leaders too frequently have 
insisted that every Christian doctrine must mean one and the same 
thing to all men and for all time. And when differences of inter- 
pretation or application of certain doctrines arose between groups the 
first thought was that of starting another school. 

The building of the Eastern Mennonite School was further mo- 
tivated in part by dissatisfaction with Goshen and Hesston Colleges. 
This dissatisfaction was later expressed by one of the promoters of 
the Eastern School in the following statement : 


“To this day (1918) General Conference has held aloof 
from official recognition of our schools and it still remains for 
those to whom is committed the charge of our educational 
system to prove to the Church that church schools are of real 
Value touthe Church ns ive toe 


In support of the idea that Goshen and Hesston Colleges have 
not proved their value the Principal of the Eastern Mennonite School 
says: 

“Tt is superfluous to mention the humiliating but stern fact that 
our (Mennonite) educational policy .... has failed to produce 
results. The chief reasons for these unsatisfactory results is that the 
religious emphasis has not kept pace with the intellectual. Denomina- 
tional interests have yielded to the stronger impulses of having our 
educational institutions conform to the popular educational standards 
and: ‘State requirements... . A glance at the curricula of our 
standard colleges reveals the fact that few, if any, religious subjects 
are listed. Their requirements as a rule are in accord with their own 
curricula. Hence where there is a strict conformity to such require- 
ments, religious development is practically ignored. The student 
Jeaves college filled, it may be, with worldly wisdom, but destitute of 
the wisdom from above.’’+ 

Among other apologies for the Eastern Mennonite School the 
promoters offer the following: (1) They want a school which is 
“emphatically Christian.” (2) They want a “denominational” school. 
(3) In view of the fact that more than one-half of the members of 
the Old Church live in the East, and there being no Mennonite School 





* Kauffman—The Conservative Viewpoint—p. 29 
~ Smith—Menncnite Year Book and Directory—1918, p. 18 


170 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


in the East, a large number of people would need to go some distance 
for a denominational school.* This last apology has a grain of truth 
in it, though Ohio (Bluffton College) is not a great distance from 
Pennsylvania or Virginia. The first two apologies leads one to think 
that none of the other Mennonite Schools are “emphatically Chris- 
tian’ or “denominational”. It is interesting to note how frequently 
men do things on the spur of impulse before reason arrives upon the 
scene and afterwards they seek out and set in order elaborate “rea- 
sons” for their action. This is a common human trait. 


It was early in 1913 that the first organized effort was made to 
establish a school in the East, which would have the “hearty encour- 
agement and support of the brotherhood.” A general meeting was 
called at Maugansville, Maryland, on February 17th, and 18th, 1914, 
at which time decision was reached to establish a school. Favorable 
action was also taken by the Virginia Conference in the autumn of 
the same year. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Conference also 
took “friendly” action.+ 


The school was started in Warwick County (near Denbigh), 
Virginia, under the name, “The Warwick Mennonite Institute.”” Ac- 
cording to Sections 1 to 5 of the Constitution the aims of the school 
would be: To serve as a safeguard for the student life of our young 
PEQDIOO itis As a means of grace and spiritual incentive for de- 
veloping more fully and completely the mind of the student along re- 
ligious as well as in moral and intellectual lines. To organize a de- 
partment of Bible study to further develop the mission spirit and for 
the training of workers. To indoctrinate our young people, to offer 
vocal music courses, and industrial direction for young people. 


The Constitution also provided that only persons in full sym- 
pathy with the doctrines of the Church should be elected to teaching 
positions ; that all the officials of the school must be in good standing 
in the Church; that all members of the faculty should comply with 
the “plain garb” rulings of the Conference; that no form of theology 
not in harmony with the Mennonite Confession of Faith should be 


* Annual Catalogue—1923-24, p. 7 
~ Mennonite Year Book and Directory—1917, p. 29 


Institutional Development 171 


taught in the school; that only such text-books should be used in the 
school as would safeguard the student against higher criticism, 
evolution, fiction or any other form of popular error; provision shall 
be made for physical exercise, but all contest games with outsiders 
shall be prohibited, and musical instruments shall not form any part 
of the equipment of the school.* 


Not long after the school was to open the prompters thought 
that “Hayfield Mansion”, near Alexandria, Virginia, would make a 
better location, to which all parties concerned agreed. The mansion 
was a three-story building with 27 rooms, built 160 years ago under 
the direction of George Washington. Efforts to buy this property 
with 300 acres of land in connection with it was made but failed. 
However, the first session of school, consisting of a four weeks’ 
Bible Term, was held at the Hayfield Mansion, January 9th, to Feb- 
ruary 6th, 1915.7 


In 1915 Assembly Park, near Harrisonburg, Virginia, was cho- 
sen as the new school site. During 1916 and 1917 two more Bible 
Terms were held of six weeks each. In the autumn of 1917 a Prin- 
cipal was elected, the faculty organized and the school opened on 
October 15th, 1917. * 


The aim of the school was practically the same as that stated in 
1913, namely, not only to save the young people to the Church while 
getting an education, but to give them a good knowledge of God’s 
Word and to strengthen them in their moral and spiritual life, thus 
fitting them to be staunch defenders of the faith. 

Recently the Virginia Conference adopted eighteen articles of 
faith in order to safeguard the people from the “inroads of the false 
doctrines which assail the Word of God and threaten to undermine 
the foundations of our faith.” These articles represent. the so-called 
“orthodox” position on the following points of doctrine: The Word 
of God; Existence and nature of God; Creation; Man; Jesus Christ; 
Salvation; The Holy Spirit; Assurance; The Church; Separation 


* Gospel Herald—April 17th, 1913. 

+ Youth’s Christian Companion—June 24th, 1923. 
* Thbid. 

+ Annual Catalogue—1923-24, p. 11 


172 Education Among the Mennomtes of America 


from the World; Discipline; Ordinances; Restrictions; The Resur- 
rection; Apostasy; The Lord’s Second Coming; The Intermediate 
State; and the final State, all of which points must be subscribed to, 
and loyalty pledged, each year by each member of the faculty. 


The discipline of the school is very strict. “Brethren and sis- 
ters are encouraged to conform to the teachings of the General 
(Old) Conference . . . . in favor of regulation attire for brethren 
and sisters. Young men are expected to refrain from wearing flashy 
neckties and suits, fashionable hats and caps. Young women should 
avoid wearing low-neck, short sleeve, transparent, narrow or short 
dresses. . . . Sisters should limit their head-gear to the plain bon- 
net or hood that can be consistently and appropriately tied. .... 
Anything that violates the Bible teaching I Tim. 2:9-10, and I Peter 
3 :3-4, in the way of ornamentation, costly or immodestly is strictly 
prohibited. . . . All pooks and papers of students are subject to in- 
spection at all times and if unsatisfactory or objectionable must be 
removed or destroyed.”* 


To date (1923) the school maintains four departments: Bible, 
College, Academy and Correspondence. The Bible department pro- 
vides for three courses, a two-year elementary, a four-year Academy, 
and a two-year advanced Bible of College grade. The College de- 
partment is of Junior rank. The Academy offers the regular four 
years’ High School work. The Correspondence courses are prac- 
tically all elementary and practical Bible courses. The Virginia 
State Board of Education has accredited the Academy for regular 
High School work; Pennsylvania and Maryland have done likewise.+ 


The student activities express themselves through about three 
avenues, namely, The Young People’s Christian Association, Liter- 
ary Societies, and “Physical Exercise’. The first named organiza- 
tion came into action in 1922 and serves much the same as does the 
Y. M. or Y. W. C. A. in other colleges. Affiliation with Nation- 
al Y. M. or Y. W. C. A., or attending any of their conventions, is 
positively discouraged, in fact, is not tolerated. The Literary So- 


~ Annual Catalogue—1923-24, p. 12f. 
* Annual Catalogue—1923-24. 
7 Ibid. 


” 


Institutional Development 10g 


cieties, of which there are three, are “not to provide entertainment 
or display,” but to give training. The program is to be conducted in 
a way so that prayer would be appropriate at any time. Concerning 
athletics, “all games with other organizations are strictly prohibited. 
No costumes or uniforms that are inconsistent with Bible teaching 
on dress or modesty of attire are allowed.’’* 


At the present time (1923) there are ten persons on the teach- 
ing staff. The student enrollment for the past year was as follows: 
Bible Department, 26; College Department, 16; Academic Depart- 
ment, 72; Special Short Bible Term, 49; and the Correspondence 
Department, 63; making a total of 111 male, and 110 female students. 
128 students came from Pennsylvania; 76 from Virginia; 10 from 
Ohio; 5 from Maryland; 2 from Indiana, and 1 from each Kansas, 
Michigan, Ontario, and West Virginia. An Alumni Association 
of about fifty members has also been organized. 


The Eastern Mennonite School has a great opportunity in reach- 
ing many young people who never would enter any other collegiate 
institution. Certainly an institution of higher learning is needed in 
the Eastern section of the denomination. Had the efforts of Abra- 
ham Unsicker and his son Henry been properly honored in connec- 
tion with Freeland Seminary in 1848 and the following ten or twenty 
years the story of the Mennonites of the Atlantic Coast States would 
today be quite different. It may not be too late yet, if proper relig- 
ious and educational ideals are maintained, and a proper attitude is 
taken toward truth, whether religious or scientific, to build an in- 
stitution which will be a great factor in Eastern Mennonitism. 
There is a large future for the right kind of a school in the Fast. 
The young people of the East, and the students of The Eastern Men- 
nonite School, are made of the same raw materials, the same in- 
stincts and impulses, as those of Goshen College, Bethel College, Ta- 
bor College, Hesston College, or any other College for that matter, 
and with equal opportunities will make good just as others have done. 
It is not the task of any College to inject into its student body ca- 
pacities and abilities which they do not have by nature, but to make 


* Annual Catalogue—1$23-24, p. 24 


174 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


“available” the capacities, the potentialities, which are in every man 
and woman by nature. Any college which does this has a future. 


WITMARSUM THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 


There are at the present time (1924) four Mennonite Colleges 
in the United States granting the Bachelor of Arts degree, several 
Junior Colleges, and perhaps a dozen lesser institutions of Academic 
and elementary grade and one Graduate School of Theology.* There 
are, in round numbers, 1,500 young Mennonites in these schools an- 
nually. More and more is the graduate school, especially in theology, 
coming into demand. With the rise of the educational status there 
naturally comes increased demands for an educated ministry. The 
theologically trained men in Mennonite pulpits number less than two 
score. Until about three or four years ago there were less than a 
dozen with the Bachelor of Divinity degree. 

In every section of the denomination also may be found High 
School and College graduates who are demanding of the pulpit a dif- 
ferent service than has been given hitherto. It is not a new Gospel 
that they are demanding, but more efficient preaching and effective 


* MENNONITE SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES (1924) 
President or 
Name Place Principal 
Witmarsum Theological Seminary....Bluffton, Ohio......... Shae or Hartzler, 


Betneli Gollewe yy il aro weks Mey es Newton, Kan.......... Rev. J. H. Langen- 
walter, D. D. 
Bipnton Cro llere nn Nm eras se Bluffton, Ohio......... Rev. S. K. Mosi- 
man, Ph. D. 
Forthiidungesschulesi ioe ae Goessel, Kan............ Rev. P. P. Buller 
Breeman (Gollerein cic h Sb oe ais Freeman, §.. D...... A. J. Regier, M. A. 
GoshenkCollegen ie ala fe cee Goshen, *indinnes: Sf Cee Yoder 
Hesston Academy and Bible School..Hesston, Kan.......... Rev. D. H. Bender 
WEPGITISRCIIE oe ciel cya ie ee MCAT Hillsboro, Kans. Prot. fk) HaiEes 
Deutsche Vereinsschule...................... Mt. Lake, Minn...... aa HOM els 
id ef 
Mennonitische Vereinsschule............ Moundridge, Kan....Rev. P. P. Wedel 
Mennonite Academy...........2.......00-..20:. Gretna, /atane ook, Rev. H. H. Ewert 
Mennonitische Bildungs Anstaldt...Altona, Man............P. H. Neufeld 
Tabor College che (eo oe dee Stal Hillsboro;) Kani H. W. Lohrenz, M. 
A. 
Zoar Vorbereitungsschule ................ Inman rate ie. F. V. Wiebe 
Deutsche-Englische Akademie.........Rosthern, Sask........ Rev. David Toews 


Nennonite wAcademy 20a ne Meno: Oblan ui Rev. J. B. Epp 


Institutional Development 175 


religious direction. The passing leadership has been quite opposed 
to a trained ministry, fearing two things, namely, lest it would do 
away with trusting to the leading of the Spirit, and that it would 
bring a salaried ministry. The rising generation, however, is de- 
manding from the rising ministerial force an education adequate to 
place the teaching from the pulpit on an equal basis with that of the 
public schools or colleges. 

The name of the institution is taken from Witmarsum, Holland, 
at which place Menno Simons, one of the early leaders of the de- 
nomination was born. It is a small, beautiful village in the middle 
of Friesland, one of the eleven Provinces of the Netherlands. The 
Mennonite Church in Witmarsum today is not large, perhaps sixty 
members. A monument to Menno Simons stands today just outside 
of the village not far from the place where the old Mennonite Church 
stood in Menno’s day.* 

It is perhaps difficult to say just where Witmarsum Theological 
Seminary began. Perhaps the first written and public report urging 
the establishment of a standard Theological School was that given by 
the Dean of the Bible School in Goshen College in annual report for 
the year 1912-13, which report urged additional equipment and teach- 
ers which would make possible the offering of full three years’ grad- 
uate work in theology leading to the Bachelor of Divinity Degree. 

But a Theological Seminary in the Denomination had been dis- 
cussed and urged by individuals and groups of individuals even be- 
fore 1913. Dean Byers and President Mosiman, now of Bluffton 
College, President Kliewer of Bethel College, Dean Whitmer 
now of Witmarsum Theological Seminary, and others, frequently 
discussed the matter and exchanged letters in which reference was 
made to the establishment of such an institution. 


As previously noted in connection with the reorganization of 
Bluffton College, at the Warsaw, Indiana, meeting of 1913, the mat- 
ter of establishing a Theological Seminary in the Mennonite Church 
was considered and action was taken to establish a Union Mennonite 
College and Seminary. The two institutions, accordingly, were or- 
ganized under one Board of Trustees, and continued so until 1921. 


=> 


* The Witmarsum Spirit—1923, p, 21. 


176 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


During the first few years the Seminary was not very active. J. H. 
T_angenwalter was elected Dean of the Seminary’in 1914 and served 
in this capacity for about five years, In 1915 J. A. Huffman was 
elected professor of New Testament. In 1917 P, E. Whitmer was 
elected professor of Church History. 

During the years 1913 to 1921 the Seminary was conducted on 
the Semester plan, covering eight and one-half months, the courses 
of study being listed under eleven departments: Old Testament, 
New Testament, Philosophy of Religion and Religious Education, 
Systematic Theology, Sociology, Church History and Doctrines, 
Homiletics and Practical Theology, Comparative Religions and 
Christian Missions, Public Speaking, and Church Music. 

During the years 1913 to 1920 there was an increasing demand 
for a standard Theological Seminary, independent from the College, 
and one in which all branches of the denomination might unite in 
their support. The breakdown of much of the older religious tradi- 
tions during the great war intensified this demand. In the autumn 
or early winter of 1919 a call was sent out, signed by four ministers, 
N. O. Blosser, P. E. Whitmer, Lester Hostetler, and the Author, 
with three laymen, asking for a conference with those interested on 
December 27th, 1919, at Lima, Ohio. This gathering marked a 
long step toward the realization of the institution. 

A second conference was held in Elkhart, Indiana, on January 
31st, 1920, and a third on April 29th, 1920, in the same city. The 
results of these conferences were favorable for the establishment of 
the institution, and that such institution should be a union effort be- 
tween the different branches of Mennonites. The older line of lead- 
ership in general was opposed to such an institution, while the rising 
generation of leadership was emphatically in favor.* The official 
church organ of the Old Conference was not in favor of the move- 
ment.t 

But the movement gained in strength every day. The promoters 
offered to The Mennonite Board of Education to locate the Semi- 
nary in Goshen, Indiana, with friendly affiliations with Goshen Col- 





* Printed Report of Elkhart Meeting—p, 5. 
+ Gospel Herald—January 8th, 1920. 


Institutional Development VL 


lege, but the Mennonite Board of Education gave the matter little, if 
any, consideration. A petition was then sent up on January 18th, 
1921, to the Board oi Trustees of Bluffton College calling for the 
organization of a Theological School which would be independent 
from the College, and incorporated under a separate Board of Trus- 
tees. This petition was granted during the same month, and proper 
committees were appointed to proceed to organize the union institu- 
tion, and the corporation was formed in July, 1921, and the Board 
elected representing the Old Mennonite Conference, The General 
Conference, The Central Conference of Mennonites of Illinois, The 
Mennonite Brethren in Christ, The Mennonite Brethren Church, 
and The Defenseless Mennonite Conference. 

It is the aim and purpose of Witmarsum Theological Seminary 
“To provide religious education and training in the departments 
known as: Graduate Seminary, Theological College, and Bible 
School, and any other department which might be added.’* “To 
serve the special needs of the Mennonite Churches of North Ameri- 
Caiasthen alt The increasing urgency of the call of our Mennonite 
Churches for well equipped Christian young people to become pas- 
tors of Churches, missionaries and Christian teachers has made it 
imperative to provide an institution to train them for these special 
tasks. It is the earnest purpose of Witmarsum Theological Semi- 
nary to provide as far as it possibly can, the instruction, practice and 
inspiration necessary to equip its students for efficient service. . . .f 

The institution was opened on the campus of Bluffton College, 
Bluffton, Ohio, on September 13th, 1921, with a qualified faculty of 
nine members.* ‘The first year registered thirteen men holding Bach- 


* Article III, Section 1, Constitution and By-Laws 
+ Annual Catalogue—1922. 


* The 1921 faculty: 
John E. Hartzler, A. M., D. B., President. Systematic Theology. 
Paul E. Whitmer, A. M., D. B., Dean. Church History. 
Jasper A. Huffman, D. B., D. D., New Testament. 
Samuel M. Musselman, Practical Theology. 
Jacob Quiring, A. M., B. D., Old Testament. 
Noah E. Byers, A. M., Philosophy. 
J. Norman King, A. B., D. B., Sociology. 
Gustav A. Lehman, A. B., Music. 
Boyd Smucker, M. O., Oratory. 


Le 


178 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


elor of Arts degree, representing three Mennonite Colleges, and four 
students of Theological College grade. 

Section 2 of Article I in the By-laws of the Constitution of the 
Institution requires that no one shall be elected to a teaching position 
in the institution “who is not a person of approved Christian char- 
acter, who is not a firm believer in the deity of Christ, in his vicarious 
atonement, or the inspiration of the Scriptures.”’ 


It was also agreed by the Board of Trustees and the Faculty of 
the Seminary assembled in joint session on February 6th, 1924, to 
go on record as holding the following principles of faith: That the 
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the inspired Word of 
God “which holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost’. 

In other matters of faith the Board of Trustees and the Faculty 
expressed themselves in accord with the historic Apostles’ Creed as 
follows: “I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven 
and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son our Lord; who 
was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered 
under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended 
into hades; the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into 
heaven; and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty ; 
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I be- 
lieve in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of 
saints ; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body, and the 
life everlasting. Amen.” 


Three leading courses of instruction are offered with the view 
of meeting the special and general needs of the denomination. There 
is the regular three years of graduate work leading to the Bachelor 
of Divinity degree, demanding the Bachelor of Arts or its equivalent 
for entrance, and requiring ninety semester hours for graduation. 
The Theological College requires High School graduation for en- 
trance and requires one hundred and twenty hours for the Bachelor 
of Theology degree, this degree being equivalent to the Bachelor of 
Arts degree. The Bible School Course is designed for such persons 
who have had no particular training and who are interested in ele- 
mentary Bible work. At the end of two years a diploma is given for 


Institutional Development 179 


graduation. Students holding the Bachelor of Arts degree may, in 
connection with Bluffton College, secure the Master of Arts degree. 

To the present time the institution has enjoyed a normal and 
substantial financial growth. Three District Conferences, namely, 
The Central Conference, The Eastern District Conference, and the 
Middle District Conference, have assumed each a chair in support. 
A fourth, The Northern District Conference, has assumed part of a 
chair; and a fifth, The Western District, has taken official action for 
two annual free-will offerings for the Seminary. The Central and 
the General Conference deserve special recognition for what they 
are doing, and have done from the beginning, for the institution. 
The financial salvation of the Seminary rests thus far with these 
two Conferences. 

At a recent session of the Board of Trustees of the Seminary 
official action was taken to inaugurate a program calling for $200,- 
000.00 for endowment purposes, $100,000.00 for building and at 
least $25,000.00 for scholarship fund. The student body has grown 
beyond the hopes of the promoters of the institution. The graduates 
of the Seminary from 1913 to 1925 are found in many states and 
Canada. as well as in China and Africa. At present there are 25 
graduates, 15 with the Bachelor of Divinity degree and 8 with the 
Master of Arts. 

What seemed to some a few years ago as an ecclesiastical lux- 
ury has indeed become a denominational necessity. To study in an 
atmosphere in which the ideals, doctrines and history of Mennonit- 
ism are constantly emphasized is a most worthwhile opportunity for 
any person preparing for service within the denomination. In fact 
it is an opportunity which no future servant of the Church can afford 
to miss. The men and women who from the various branches of the 
Church, study here, find it very agreeable to labor together when 
they leave the institution. If union among the Mennonites of Amer- 
ica ever obtains it will have its beginning in an institution such as 
this. 


CRAP Reiors 


THE OUTLOOK 


In February, 1925, the Mennonite Church entered its fifth cen- 
tury as a religious denomination. Four hundred years is a long time 
when considered in the light of what we have or have not done. 
Two hundred and forty-two years in free and democratic America 1s 
a long time in view of the progress which we have and have not 
made. Has Mennonirism become a stagnant pool or is it a running. 
stream? Are there sufficient resident forces and potentialities in the 
denomination to insure a future worth while? Do we today possess 
sufficient of the “Faith of our Fathers”, sufficient of an open Bible 
for all men, sufficient freedom of religious conscience and freedom 
of Biblical interpretation, sufficient spiritual regeneration and relig- 
ious toleration among ourselves to guarantee our continuance as 
Mennonites? Are we still Mennonites or are we fast gravitating 
toward Romanism? 


Certainly it is more than evident that the future of the denom- 
ination depends largely on our attitude toward the educational move- 
ments of the present time. If our colleges are encouraged and giv- 
en their rightful freedom then the future of the denomination is 
bright. If they are to be suppressed, intimidated and taken off the 
map, then we may as well surrender now and save the patient further 
agonies. 


As previously noted Mennonitism began with a number of high- 
ly educated men in its ranks. As time went on, due to persecutions 
and poverty, the educated element dropped out and education lost 
caste. In America, from 1683 to perhaps 1770, such men as Francis 
Daniel Pastorius and Christopher Dock kept the educational fires 
kindled. From about 1840 to 1860 the educational torch was car- 
ried by such men as Abraham and Henry Unsicker, Joseph Funk, 
John H. Oberholtzer and a few others. From the time of the Civil War 
until the present the movement toward higher education has been con- 
tinually urged by a few leading spirits. There are gaps in the history of 


The Outlook 181 


Mennonite education which thus far have not been filled with docu- 
mentary connections. It is reasonably certain that from the time of 
the Revolutionary War until the Civil War and later, the Mennon- 
ites of America almost exterminated themselves with the discipline 
which was not only severe, but in many cases unjust and unreason- 
able. 


PRESENT TENDENCIES 


There are today at least three general and significant tendencies 
among the Mennonites of America. The one is toward an extreme 
conservatism; a conservatism, which in some cases, exalts human 
authority above the Scriptures and above reason; a conservatism 
which demands uniformity in faith and conformity in action and 
conduct to the loss of freedom in both thought and action; a con- 
servatism which believes that virtue lies in exact, formal and literal 
statements and doctrines, good for all time and for all men, unalter- 
able and unchangeable, under penalty of excommunication, or per- 
haps ecclesiastical boycott. In other words, it is a conservatism 
which reminds one acquainted with the facts of history with the state 
of affairs in the Roman Church in the days of the Anabaptists. It is 
a conservatism which leads men to act upon the impulse of “fear” 
before reason has had time to speak, and then proceeds to “frame 
up” most elaborate reasons for certain lines of action and conduct. 
The reasoning, in some instances, is perfectly logical, and would be 
conclusive were it not for the fact that the major premise is wrong. 

There is a second tendency, namely, toward a more liberal philos- 
ophy of life. The scientific spirit of the 19th and the 20th centuries 
has found its way into the life of the denomination in a remarkable 
way. The psychological tendencies so evident in the educational world 
during the past quarter or one-half century is working with tremen- 
dous force, overthrowing much of the religious tradition, and most of 
the religious educational method. This over-turning of things is not 
entirely unwelcome to the rising generation. 

The urbanization of the rural mind through the telephone, daily 
newspapers and farm journals, rural mail service, radio and the 
automobile has brought about a changed mental and religious atti- 


182 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


tude much to the perplexity of the older leadership. 

The sociological changes in American life resulting from the 
coming of the machine, modern means of travel and communication 
has taken Mennonitism far from its old social, religious and educa- 
tional moorings, which, in turn, leads some to fear that the denom- 
ination is adrift on a cruel and friendless theological sea, destined 
soon to vanish on the rocks of agnosticism and despair. To others 
these changes are but omens of a hopeful and prosperous future. 

A third tendency, briefly mentioned, is that of a closer union 
between the several branches of the denomination. During the last 
ten years, and in particular during the Great War, this tendency is 
in evidence. The “All-Mennonite” Conference, now being held tri- 
annually, The Mennonite Relief Commission of America, are doing 
much to bring the branches together into closer cooperative relations. 
It has been a bit perplexing and hard to explain to more thoughtiul 
people both within and without the denomination, why Mennonites 
are so ready to forget their differences and to cooperate in times of 
war and so ready and eager to quarrel in times of peace. 


A PRESENT NEED 


Perhaps the major weakness in Mennonitism, and the cause of 
most of the internal difficulties, lies in the fact that the denomina- 
tion has never set itself to one great and consuming task of world 
betterment, either religiously or educationally. Mennonitism in 
many instances, has set its attention so strongly on getting to heaven, 
that it has over-looked the task, the duty, the opportunity of bring- 
ing heaven, in some measure at least, to men on earth. There never 
will be great accomplishments in the denomination until some great, 
consuming purpose captures the attention and efforts of its people to 
the extent that all minor and nonessential differences, likes and dis- 
likes, fade eternally out of sight. 

What Mennonitism needs today, above all things, is a great re- 
ligious, ethical, educational and social objective laid upon its heart 
and conscience with the authority of Jesus Christ back of it, this ob- 
jective to be nothing less than the eternal Kingdom of God so ear- 
nestly lived and taught by Jesus himself. The objective implies 


The Outlook 183 


three things: First, vital and constructive religious education. Sec- 
ond, a didactic evangelism which seeks the divine laws of life, one 
which is educational rather than dogmatic, vital rather than tradi- 
tional. And third, a qualified Christian ministry; a ministry which 
implies a personal experience with God and truth, a divinely inspired 
vision of the whole world, and a passion for service which knows no 
retreat or defeat. 


THE PROBLEM 


The problem of American Mennonitism is three-fold: (1) To 
harmonize and properly direct the above tendencies to desired ends. 
(2) To unite the available forces in a constructive religious, social 
and educational program in contributive service in the King- 
dom of God. (3) Efficient and effective leadership which is able to 
tap the eternal resources of a well endowed people, and to direct 
these resources into channels of altruistic and constructive service. 


Fundamentally, the whole problem is one of leadership. But 
the ethics of leadership, and the matter of getting the men who 
should lead, into the place of leadership has always been a problem. 
Humanity generally is reckless in the matter of following leadership. 
Nothing is so dangerous and so destructive to society and so detri- 
mental to the future well-being of humanity and civilization general- 
ly as a sincere man, yet ignorant, in the place of leadership and giv- 
ing the wrong “lead” to men. It requires generations to undo the 
injuries of such a leadership. Mennonitism, along with other denom- 
inations, has suffered much at the hands of “‘sincere” men. 


There is but one solution to the problem of leadership, and that 
is to admit the necessity of leadership, and to admit experts only, 
and then demand results. Of all the fields of human endeavor de- 
manding intelligence, wisdom, experience, broad-mindedness and 
open-heartedness, that of leading humanity into the “manhood of the 
Master” is by far the most responsible. In the field of science, and 
medicine, and invention we admit experts, we trust them, and we de- 
mand results. If results are not forthcoming, the career of the ex- 
pert ends. If men without knowledge and experience, or genuine 
credentials, are not allowed to minister to the needs of the physical 


184 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


body, why should we be less concerned about the spiritual man? 

If Mennonitism would live it must admit trained and efficient 
leadership, a leadership which is not only “good-hearted”, but also 
wise-headed ; a leadership which can direct and control to desired re- 
ligious and social ends the significant movements and tendencies 
which are now shaping the future of the denomination. Mennon- 
itism has such men within her ranks, and if appropriated to the task, 
will make large and permanent contributions to the present and fu- 
ture of the denomination. 


A PROGRAM 


Whatever else may be said or mentioned there are three things 
which must enter a working program, namely, (1) A return to the 
“Faith of our Fathers” in so far as it is founded in the New Testa- 
ment, and a vital and dynamic interpretation and practice of the 
same; (2) The standardization and promotion of at least two col- 
leges, one in the east and one in the west; and (3) A union School 
of Theology. Any one and all three of these are not beyond the lim- 
its of necessity or possibility. 

The founders of early Mennonitism urged a wide margin be- 
tween themselves and Romanism. Over-head human authority, an 
infallible human head for the Church, and absolute obedience to this 
authority was the habit of the Roman Church for nearly eight hun- 
dred years. Martin Luther, Zwingli, Menno Simon and others broke 
away from the old habit. The Mennonites became the most radical 
perhaps of all in demanding an open Bible, freedom of conscience, 
the individual and collective right of dissent, and spiritual regenera- 
tion as a basis and test of Church membership. 

For four hundred years the Mennonites have been in the proc- 
ess of forming the new habit, the direct opposite from the habit 
formed in the Roman Church during eight hundred years, but there 
is evidence again and again of reverting to the old habit on matters 
of authority and infallibility. If Mennonitism would continue and 
make a vital contribution in the promotion of the Kingdom of God 
among men it must separate itself farther from the habits of Roman- 
ism and dedicate itself anew to its early faith in Jesus Christ alone. 


The Outlook 185 


Mennonitism must free itself from the “left-overs’’, the mistakes and 
errors of Romanism, against which our fathers protested four hun- 
dred years ago. 

Mennonitism has been more or less uneconomic in the building 
of numerous academic and collegiate institutions. As a result of in- 
dividualism and the right of dissent carried to an extreme the de- 
nomination is at present attempting more educational institutions 
than she is willing to properly support. Two standard, well endowed 
Colleges, one in the East and one in the West, will meet present needs 
more efficiently. For the sake of the denomination itself, and in 
view of its duty and obligation to the world, Mennonitism should in 
conference fully consider and agree upon a program for collegiate 
and theological education. Any present institution should be willing 
to sink, if need be, if that meant the salvation of the denomination 
and better service to the present and future generations. He that 
saveth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life the same shall 
find it, is a principle that works in institutions as well as in individual 
lives. 


The wild pigeon, which seventy-five years ago filled the sky and 
hid the sun like a cloud in passing, has disappeared to the last bird. 
Those who have given the problem attention tell us that they became 
so numerous that they died for want of sufficient and proper food. 
Too many colleges in a small denomination will make it impossible 
for any to live and serve as they should and may lead to institutional 
suicide. 


Concerning the matter of a theological school the way to a solu- 
tion is not far. A recent investigation reveals the fact that the near- 
ly thirty persons teaching Bible in the twelve or more Mennonite 
schools in America received their Biblical training in twenty-three 
different institutions outside of the Mennonite denomination. In 
some respects this is a very good thing. On the other hand it ac- 
counts for at least a part of the doctrinal differences within the body 
which have made it more or less difficult for the various branches to 
cooperate as they should. If American Mennonitism is to present a 
solid and united front and become an active and vital force in gener- 
ations to come there must be a central and theological institution in 


186 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


which all the various branches of the Church may cooperate. For- 
tunately, there is at the present time developing such an institution 
in Witmarsum Theological Seminary on the campus of Bluffton 
College, Bluffton, Ohio. Already this institution has grown into the 
nerve and fiber of the denomination to the extent that a discontinua- 
tion of the same would mean serious loss, if not death, to progress- 
ive American Mennonitism. The pulsating throbs of this vital organ 
are felt through the length and breadth of the denomination in the 
graduates and men who have gone out from the institution. Unless 
there should develop a case of doctrinal or ecclesiastical apoplexy, 
which is not likely, the future of American Mennonitism augurs 
well through Witmarsum Theological Seminary. 


For the most effective execution of the program it may do no 
harm to suggest for consideration the organization of “The United 
Mennonite Church”. The spirit of unity is more Christian than that 
of disunity. Several of the leading Conferences at present have so 
many things in common and so few differences that to continue sep- 
arately is hardly justifiable. Can we not call representatives from 
three or four of the more similar bodies, draft a constitution agree- 
able to all on a Congregational basis, provide for bi-annual Assem- 
bly for inspiration and fellowship, and then proceed to execute a 
threefold program, namely, Christian Collegiate education, Missions, 
home and foreign, and Hospital and home for the aged? Can we 
not adjust ourselves to each other and to the larger Christian world 
movements, missionary and educational, thus giving the rising stu- 
dent generation more numerous contacts and greater opportunities in 
religious service? Will not the life of American Mennonitism 
eventually depend upon a movement of this kind? 


Finally, it should be said, that whatever is done concerning a 
program should be done soon. The denomination is in a transitional 
period. Great changes are taking place. Ina few years the religious 
and educational composition will begin to take definite and perma- 
nent form, and as it forms thenit is likely destined to remain for 
some years to come. Wisdom suggests that all the educational ele- 
ments of all the various branches agree in conference on some kind 
of program which can be made effective and executed efficiently dur- 


The Outlook 187 


ing the present century, for it is only on the basis of a cooperative 
and unified educational program that American Mennonitism can 
hope to make anything of a worth while and permanent contribution 
toward the establishment of His Kingdom among the peoples of the 


earth, | 


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BIBLIOGRAPHY 


The following bibliography makes no attempt to list all the books or 
publications on Mennonite History, but rather such as have either direct 
or indirect bearing on the educational movement within the denomination. 
The primary aim is to list such sources, including unpublished manu- 
scripts and documents, sources which were used with frequency by the 
author in the preparation of this work. 


Buller, F. B. 


Frey, Gustav 


Hartziern onl. 


Hoover, J. W. 


Kaufman, E. G. 


Cohrenz.v.J. hi. 


Moyer, J. F. 


Pannabecker, F. 


UNPUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS 


Educational Implications of the Theology of Menno 
Simon, Essay in candidacy for M. A. degree, Yale 
University, 1923. 


Higher Education in the General Conference. Essay in 
candidacy for M. A. degree, Witmarsum Theological 
Seminary, Bluffton, O., 1923. 


Education Among the Mennonites of America. Vol- 
ume of 500 pages covering details of historical facts in 


connection with Mennonite schools. My private library. 
1923. 


Social Attitudes Among the Mennonites. Essay in can- 
didacy for M. A. degree, University of Chicago. 1915. 


Social Problems and Opportunit’es of the Churches of 
the Western District Conference. Essay in candidacy 
for M. A. degree, Bluffton College, Bluffton, O. 1917. 


History of the Mennonite Brethren Church of North 
America. Essay in candidacy for M. A. degree in Men- 
nonite Sem‘nary, Bluffton, O. 1919. 


Religious Education in the Mennonite Churches Com- 
prising the Middle District Conference. Essay in can- 
didacy for M. A. degree in Mennon‘te Seminary, Bluff- 
ton. 1920. 


History cf the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. Essay in 
candidacy for M. A. degree, Bluffton College, Bluffton. 
1919. 


190 


Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Voth Jue History of the Western District Conference. Essay in 


candidacy for M. A. degree, Witmarsum Theological 
Seminary, Bluffton. 1922 


Weber, H. F. The Mennonites of Illinois. Essay in candidacy for 


M. A. degree in Witmarsum Theological Seminary, 
Bluffton. 1923. 


SPECIAL PAPERS AND UNPUBLISHED REPORTS 


Educational Documents— 


(1) 
(2) 


(3) 


(4) 


(5) 


(6) 
(7) 


Burkhard, Samuel—The Case of Goshen College—1923. 

Haury, Prof. G. A.—Special Phases of History in Connection 
with Bethel College. 1923. 

Harms, J. F.—School Endeavors of the Mennonite Brethren 
Church to the Year 1905. 1923. 


Kliewer, J. W.—The German Parochial Schools of the Mennon- 
ites in Central Kansas. (Written in 1900 and revised in 
1923.) 

Plank, Bishop David—Or'gin and Growth of Our Sunday School. 
1898. 

Hirschy, N. C.—The Early Days of Bluffton College. 1923. 


Papers on School System in Mountain Lake, Minn., by G. Buh- 
ler, J. J: Balzer, A. J. Becker, D. H:. Fast, Ll. (.. Bargen, and 
John Rempel. 1923. (All the above educational documents 
in my private library.) 


Reports and Minutes— 


(1) 
(2) 
(3) 
(4) 
(5) 
(6) 


Report of Indiana Amish Mennonite Conference—1883 to 1916. 
Goshen. 

Report of Ind.-Mich. Mennonite Conference—1864 to 1916. 
Goshen. 

Report of Ind.-Mich. (union) Mennonite Conference—1916 to 
1921. Goshen. 

Minutes of Board of Trustees of Bluffton College—1900 to 1924. 
Bluffton. 

Minutes of Witmarsum Theological Seminary—1921 to 1924. 
Bluffton. 

Recommendations of Seminary Faculty to the Board of Trustees 
of Bluffton College, 1921. Bluffton. 


Bibliography 191 
BOOKS 


Barclay, Robert—The Inner Life of The Religious Soc‘eties of the Com- 
monwealth. Third Edition. London. 1876. 
Bax, Belfort—Rise and Fall of The Anabaptists. London. 1903, 


Brons, Anna—Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten. Norden. 1891. 
Brown, J. N.—The Life and Times of Menno. Philadelph’a. 1853. 


Brumbaugh, M. G.—Life and Works of Christopher Dock. Lippencott 
. Company. 1908. 
Brumbaugh, M. G—A History of The Brethren. Mt. Morris. 1899. 
Byers, N. K—Christian Workers’ Manual. Mennonite Publishing House. 
1913. 
Cassel, Daniel—Geschichte der Mennoniten. Philadelphia. 1890. 
Catechisms— 

(1) Katechismus oder Kurze und ‘Niitzliche Unterweisung aus der 
heiligen Schrift, in Frage und Antwort, ftir die Kinder zum Ge- 
brauch in den Schulen. Ausgegeben durch die Christliche Ge- 
meine im Waldeckischen welche Mennoniten genennet werden. 
Strassburg. 1801. 

(2) The same. Ausgegeben durch die Christliche Mennonisten-Ge- 
meinde im Hessischen. 1834. 

(3) The same. Ausgegeben durch die Christliche Mennoniten-Ge- 
meinde in der Pfalz. 1841. 

(4) The same. Schippach, Penna, 1848. 

(5) Katechismus der Christlichen Lehre zum Gebrauch in Evan- 
gelischen Mennoniten-Gemeinen. Worms. 1861. (All five in 
my private library.) 

(6) The Catechism or Simple Instruction from the Sacred Scrip- 
tures, as Taught by the Mennonite Church. Berne, Ind. 1917. 

Confessions of Faith— 

(1) Confession of Faith and Minister’s Manual. The Confession 
adopted first at Dortrecht, 1632. 

(2) Mennonite Articles of Faith as Set Forth in Public Confession 
of the Church. Compiled and Stated by Cornelis Ris. Hoorn, 
Holland. Translated. Berne, Indiana. 1918. 

(3) Confession of Faith of The Mennonite Brethren Church of North 
America. American Edition. Hillsboro, Kansas. 1917. 

(4) Articles of Faith and the Constitution of the Central Conference 
of Mennonites. Adopted 1909. Revised, 1915. 

(5) Confession of Faith, Rules and Discipline of The Defenseless 
Mennonite Church. Revised and Adopted 1917. Chicago. 

Catholic Encyclopedia (Supplement). Article, “Mennonites”. 


192 Education Among the Mennonites of America 


Clews, H.—Educational Legislation and Administration of the Colonial 
Governments. New York. 1899. 

Cubberley, E. P—Changing Conceptions of Education. New York. 1909. 

Dosker, H. E..—The Dutch Anabaptists. Philadelphia. 1921. 

Eby, Benjamin—A B C-Buchstabier und Lesebuch zum Gebrauch fir 
deutsche Schulen. Siebente Auflage. Elkhart. 1909. 

Ecclesiastical Records of The State of New York. Vols. I, II, IV, VI. 
Albany. 1901. 

Elkhart Institute Memorial. 1904 Goshen. 

Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Article, ““Dunkards”. 

Funk, J. F—The Mennonite Church and Her Accusers. Elkhart. 1878. 

Funk, Henrich—Erklarung einiger Hauptpunkten des Gesetzes. 1763. 
Bluffton, Ohio. 

Graves, E. P.—A Student’s History of Education. New York. 1920. 

Grubb, N. B.—The Mennonite Church of Germantown. Philadelphia. 
1906. 

Hartzler, J. S—The Mennonites and the World War. Scottdale. 1921. 

Hartzler-Kauffman—Mennonite Church History. Scottdale. 1905. 

Historical Sketches. A collect'on of Papers prepared for the Historical 
Society of Montgomery County, Penna. Vol. III. Nor- 
ristown. 1905. 

Horsch, John—Life of Menno Simons. Scottdale. 1916. 

Huffman, J. A—-The Mennonite Brethren Church. New Carlisle, Ohio. 
1920. 

Hunsicker, Abraham—Relig’ons-Kirchen und Schulwesen der Mennon- 
iten. Wimpfen, Hesse. 1830. My private library. 

Hunsicker, C. S—History of Montgomery County, Penna. Vol. 1. New 
Yorks 1923. 

Hurst, J. F.—History of The Christian Church. Cincinnati. 1897, 

Jones, Rufus.—The Quakers in The American Colonies. New York. 1911. 

Kauffman, Daniel—Bible Doctrine (Edited). Scottdale. 1914. 

Kauffman, Daniel—The Conservative Viewpoint. Scottdale. 1918. 

Keatinge, M. W.—The Great Didactic of Comenius. London. 1896. 

Keller, Ludwig—Die Geschichte der Wiedertaufer. Leipzig. 1880. 

Keller, Ludwig—Hans Denk—ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer. London. 
1882. 

Kellog, Major W G.—The Conscientious Objector. New York. 1919. 

Krehbiel, H. P.—History of the General Conference. St. Louis. 1898. 

Langenwalter, J. H.—Christ’s Headship of the Church. Berne, Indiana. 
1917. 

Learned, M. D.—Life of Francis Daniel Pastorius. Philadelphia. 1908. 

Luther, Martin—First Principles of The Reformation. Translated. Lon- 
don. 1883. : 


Bibliography 193 


McGiffert, A. T.—Martin Luther, The Man and His Work. New York. 
1911. 

Monroe, Paul—Text-book In The History of Education. New York. 1905. 

Newman, A. H.—A History of Antipedobaptism. Philadelphia. 1897. 


Newman A. H.—A History of the Baptist Church in The United States. 
. New York. 1894, 

Newman, A. H.—American Church History Series. Vol. IJ. New York. 
1897, 

Old South Leaflets. Vol. IV. No. 95. Directors of The Old South Work. 
Boston. 

Pennypacker, S. W.—History of Germantown. Proceedings of Pennsyl- 
yania German Society. Vols. IX, 1898; and IV, 1894. Lan- 

Precaster. 

Pennsylvania Archives. Colonial Period. Philadelphia. 

Sachse, J. F.--The German Sectarians of Pennsylvania from 1742 to 1800. 
Philadelphia. 1900. 

Sandiford, P.—Comparative Education. (Edited). London. 1918. 

Saur, Christopher—Einfaltige und Griindlich abgefaszte Schul-Ordnung. 
Germantown. 1770. In Brumbaugh’s Life and Work of 
Christopher Dock. 

Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia. Articles—*“Mennonites”, ‘“Dunkards’, 
“Menno Simon”, 

Seidensficker, O.—Papers in the Deutsche Pioneer. Vols. II, III. Cin- 
cinnati. 1870. 

Simon, Menno—Complete Works of. Translated. Elkhart. 1871. 

Smith, C. H.—The Mennonites. Berne, Indiana. 1920. 

Smith, C. H.—The Mennonites of America. Goshen. 1909. 

Smith, C. H—The Mennonites in History. Scottdale. 

T. van Braght—Martyr’s Mirror. 1748. Translated, 1887. Elkhart. 

Vedder, H. C—Heroes of The Reformation. (Hubmaier). New York. 
1905.2" 

Vedder, H. C—Short History of The Baptists. Philadelphia. 1907. 

Walker, W.—The Reformation. New York 1900. 

Wayland, J. W.—The German Element in the Shenandoah Valley. Char- 
lotte, Va. 1907. 

Wedel, C. H.—Sketches from Church History for Mennonite Schools. 
Translated. Berne, Indiana. 1920. 

Wich, B. L—The Amish Mennonites. Iowa State Historical Society. 
1894. 

Wickersham, J. P.—History of Education in Pennsylvania. Lancaster. 


1886. 


194 


Periodicals— 


(1) 
(2) 
(3) 


(4) 
(5) 
(6) 
(7) 
(8) 
(9) 
(10) 
(11) 
(12) 
(13) 
(14) 
(15) 
(16) 
(17) 
(18) 


Education Among the Mennonites of America 


MISCELLANEOUS PRINTED SOURCES 


The Herald of Truth. Chicago and Elkhart. 1864-1908. 

The Mennonite. Berne, Indiana. 1885— 

Zur Heimath—Ein Monatsblatt unter Aegide der Mennonite 
Board of Guardians. Herausgegeben von David Goerz. 1875- 
1879. Newton, Kansas. 

The Gospel Herald. 1905— Scottdale. 

Das Christliche Volks-Blatt. Dec. 1857. Milford Square. 

Der Mennonitische Friedensbote. May 15th, 1872. Milford Square. 
Bundesbote. Berne, Indiana. 1881— 

The Christian Monitor. Scottdale. 1909— 

Religidser Botschafter. Milford Square. 1852-1855. 

Zionsbote. No. 47. Hillsboro. 

The Mennonite Review. Newton, Kansas. 1923— 

Der Herold. Newton. 1909— 

The Review. March, 1889. Canton, O. 

The Christian Exponent. Wooster, O. 1924— 

The Youth’s Christian Companion. September, 1922. Scottdale. 
The Elkhart Truth. Files, 1894 to 1903. Elkhart. 

The Goshen News-Times. Files, 1903 to 1924. Goshen. 
Scrap-book. Clippings by Dr. Mumaw concerning Elkhart In- 
stitute. Elkhart. 


Magazines— 


(1) 
(2) 
(3) 


Geistliches Magazin. No. 33. Saur. Germantown. 1770. 
The Pennsylvania German Magazine. Lebanon, Etc. 1900-1914. 
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Vol. II. 
Philadelphia. 1878. 


College Publications— 


(1) 


(2) 
(3) 


Catalogues— 

All the catalogues of each educational institution with special 
bulletins. Ursinus College and Witmarsum Theological Semi- 
nary included. On file with each institution. 

Articles of Incorporation of each institution. On file with each 
institution. 

College Papers— 

The Elkhart Institute Monthly. 1896-1903. Goshen. 

Goshen College Record. 1903-1923. Goshen. 

Goshen College Alumni News Letter. Goshen. 

Bethel College Record. Newton. 

Bluffton College Record. 1903-1913. Bluffton. 


(4) 


(5) 


Bibliography 195 


The Witmarsum. 1913— Bluffton. 

The Tabor College Herald. Hillsboro, Kansas. 

The Hesston College Journal. 1914— Hesston, Kansas. 
College Annuals— 

The Maple Leaf. 1904-1923. Goshen College. 

The Grey Maroon. Bethel College. 

The Ista. Bluffton College. 

The Tabor College Annual. Tabor College. 

The Witmarsum Spirit. Witmarsum Theological Seminary. 
The Student’s Y. M. C. A. Hand-books at the several Colleges. 
United Campaign for Christian Education. 1924. Bluffton. 


Mennonite Church Year Books and Reports— 


(1) 
(2) 
(3) 
(4) 


(5) 
(6) 


(7) 
(8) 


(9) 
(10) 


(11) 
(12) 


The Mennonite Family Almanac, Elkhart. 1875-1923. 
Mennonite Year Book and Almanac. Berne, Indiana. 1895-1924. 
Mennonite Year Book and Directory. Scottdale. 1905-1924. 
Year Book of The Central Conference of Mennonites. Bloom- 
ington. 1922-1924, 

Report Western District Conference. Newton. 1883-1924. 
Conference Record (Kans.-Nebr. Menn. Conf.) Hesston. 1876- 
1914, 

Report Middle District Conference. Berne, Indiana. 

Annual Reports of the Presidents of the several Colleges. In 
files of each institution. 

Report of Mennonite Bible and Training School Committee 
(1920). Elkhart. 

Report of Eastern District Mennonite Conference. 

Report of All-Mennonite Conference. (1913-1921). Berne. 
Report of Commissioner of Education (1896-1897). Vol, I. 
Washington, D. C. 








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